Burning for survival
by Glumanda7
Summary: After a dreadful past a lonely and lost Charmander tries to stay alive , in hopes of finding someone to help him. Will he get past all the dangers that this hostile territory holds up against him?
1. A spark in the rain

In the middle of a vast volcanic ridge, a lonesome Charmander travels around seemingly lost. The Pokémon himself had a Long tail and dark blue eyes and otherwise looked like any other Charmander. "How long do I have to go on ?" the lizard thought to himself , before thinking about the scenes from the past few days that had burned into his memories.

The lizard was living in a cave on the flank of a Volcano , together with his parents . He clearly remembered his moms face with her sky blue eyes. One day his dad and his mom went outside to find something edible . Seconds later an earthquake started shaking up the ground. Even though Earthquakes are something normal in the region due to the tectonical shifts , this event changed their sons live for good. The next thing Charmander remembered was an avalanche of rocks and dirt covering up the entrance to the cave but outside the screams of his parents broke through the grumbling sound of the Landslide. After a few Minutes the rather young Charmander had cleared the entrance to the cave , using his sharp Claws to remove the debris. Mom? Dad? He yelled loudly… That call has not been answered until this very day… Charmander remembered

Tears started to form in his eyes…."I am so hungry… and my feet hurt from all the running around , but on the other hand where do I have to go to anyway ? " The Fire type thought to himself. The area itself was pretty warm and as one can imagine also dotted with volcanoes . Eruptions here where something that happened regularly. Streams of liquid Lava where flowing through the Valleys. Charmander concentrated on travelling on high ground since he could spot any danger from afar. Staying this close to the volcanic craters was safe for him due to being a fire type. Any other Pokemon type would be burned to cinders if they came into direct contact with the hot lava.

Charmander was sitting down on rock , staring into a volcanic pit next to him, when a loud but far away voice interrupted the second-lasting break: "Don´t eat me!" Charmander scanned the area looking for the source of the voice… In the distance the blue eyed lizard spotted a little Pokemon with flames on his back running away from a rocky snake who was dozens of times bigger and heavier. The two Pokemon where running through a valley formed by the volcano charmander was on and by a crater in the distance.

"If I don´t do anything that Pokémon is going to be a goner" The reptile didn't´ bother about climbing down safely. Even though he knew it would be painful Charmander sledded down the step and rocky slope on his back, trying to intercept the route of the two Pokemon he spotted earlier.

The rocks where starting to cut into the lizards skin as he started to slide faster after what seemed like forever Charmander stopped sliding ..He looked around to find out that the Pokemon he was looking for were getting close. The fire type quickly got up and ran toward the center of the valley where seconds later the fleeing fire Pokémon arrived, with his giant follower in tow.

The little Pokemon with the fire on his back looked at the lizard, although he was a fire type he was shivering with fear…" please don´t kill me "he said. Charmander took a closer look at the Pokemon who had a few wounds on him when the hungry predator finally came to where the two fire types where at . He stood up in his full size before yelling :" I will eat both of you then , I am a pretty hungry Onix anyways." " Not if I can help it" Charmander said before walking in front of the chased pokemon. The little fire mouse Pokemon looked totally amazed at was happening. Charmander jumped up into the air before his tail started to glow brightly " iron tail! " he yelled before striking Onix´s head with his tail . A chunk of rock was knocked out of the rock Pokemon big head .

"Ow how dare you! " the Onix roared…" I´m out of here! " He said before digging into the ground.

" Wow you sure are strong Charmander , by the way I ´m Cyndaquil, thanks for saving me ." "Nice to meet you Cyndaquil , well I do train a lot so I can defend myself. " how about we go up there, usually no Pokemon follows you if you are close to a volcano " Charmander said pointing up to the volcano where he had been before. " Okay I´ll try but I'm not that much of a climber " There is probably a way up that is not so step , look ahead…" Charmander pointed to a slope of the volcanoes that was not that step.

"What are you doing out here all by yourself?" The lizard wondered, "Well that´s a long story …I can tell you on the way to the top of the volcano ." Cyndaquil said before following Charmander back to the top of the volcanoes.

-End of Chapter 1-


	2. Erupting Emotions

After saving Cyndaquils life, Charmander and the fire mouse Pokémon were starting to climb up the slope to the craters of the volcanoes where Charmander had come down from earlier.

The lizard Pokémon told Cyndaquil what had happened a few days ago "That sounds awful" Cyndaquil said before revealing her own past. "I used to be a Pokémon within a tribe of Cyndaquil as well as Quilava and a Typhlosion which are the evolved forms. One day the Typhlosion wanted me to mate with someone I didn´t like at all, so I refused to do so. That's when he told me to leave the tribe if I didn´t follow his order…Since I´m right here you can probably figure I decided to leave…"The Fire Mouse looked at Charmander before saying : " I always wanted someone I could rely on, who would be there to help me out when I got in trouble " she added.

Do you know where to find food around here? I haven´t eaten in a long time" The lizard said. "I remember some of my friends talking about dormant volcanoes being a place where berries grow but they can be very hard to find." The fire mouse said.

By the time the two fire types reached the top, the sun had started to set, however, there was never something such as a quiet and dark night in the Landscape due to the volcanic activities brightening the skies with orange reflections from the lava which reflected back of the clouds.

Cyndaquil was amazed by the view from the top of the volcano. "So where are you going to go to? " Charmander asked." I don´t know, but I would like to travel around together with you…" "That would be perfectly fine with me, how about we find one of those inactive volcanoes so we can get something to eat? "The lizard suggested "Sounds like a plan, but I´m really glad to know I won´t have to wander around here and being alone for the rest of my life "she said." How about we spend the night here, so we can get some sleep and then we´ll set out tomorrow?" Cyndaquil said before yawning loudly… Charmander laid down "It´s a pretty nice place to sleep, since it´s warm here "the Blue eyed lizard said.

Cyndaquil touched Charmanders nose with her own, before rubbing her head against the one of her new friend. Charmander, who was clearly surprised, opened his eyes. "I hate sleeping by myself "The fire mouse added, looking into the reptiles eyes. " No prob "Charmander said, before stroking Cyndaquils head a couple times while looking into her eyes, before letting his hand rest on her back. The two Pokémon grinned at each other. Charmander took a closer look at the fiery back of the mouse Pokémon. "Your fire is pretty nice" the lizard said" Cyndaquil looked at her friend's fiery tail "Your fire looks very relaxing but hot" She said before giving Charmander a kiss on his cheek, who blushed afterward. "Good night" Charmander said before closing his eyes. Cyndaquil put out the fire on her back before falling asleep as well.

The sun had set and night had wrapped the Landscape. Through the night many eruptions could be heard and little vibrations of the ground could be felt. The night in the Landscape didn´t feel peaceful like one would imagine, some sort of tension always remained no matter what time of the day it was

After many hours of sleep Charmander felt someone licking his cheek. "Morning" a familiar voice said, waking up the sleepy Pokémon. "Morning Cyndaquil "the lizard said, getting up. Then he breathed a cloud of flames into the air. Cyndaquil ignited her back before doing the same." I think your fire might even be hotter than mine. "Charmander analyzed.

"No not again!" Cyndaquil said before pointing downwards where Charmander spotted the rocky snake from the day before coming up to the volcano, along with two followers…Charmander could see their evil grins on their face… "What do we do?" Cyndaquil asked looking towards the lizard who had rescued her the other day for directions…."let´s run to the crater quickly"… Charmander said before doing so, along with Cyndaquil following.

"

-End of Chapter 2-


	3. Melting Hopes

After seeing the hungry predators, the two fire types retreated to the crater of the volcano. It was filled with bubbling Lava almost all the way due to the volcanic activities bringing more of the hot Liquid to the surface

"We have to dive into it and hide there if we don´t want to end up being someone´s breakfast "Charmander said before diving into the bubbling inferno. " I hope this works" Cyndaquil said before following the Fire lizard into the Lava. The lava splashed when the two fire types jumped in. "If we stay under the surface they won´t see us "Charmander whispered to the fire mouse Pokémon before diving down a few feet. Cyndaquil followed and held on to Charmander when he stopped diving. Unlike water, lava isn´t clear to see through and especially with the bright orange coloration inside of it, maneuvering through it, was always a difficult task.

Seconds later the Onixes shadows where looming over the crater, looking for the hiding Pokémon. "I could have sworn I seen a couple of fire Pokémon up here breathing fire" one of them roared." I knew you were seeing things; it was probably just the volcano here spitting out some lava. "Another said. " I want to get revenge for what that lizard did to me, when I find him, I´ll teach him a lesson about rock Pokémon eating fire types." The third said. His head did look pretty weird due to Charmander´s attack the day before. "Let´s get away from the crater, it´s a little too warm for me here, besides there is nothing here anyway." One of the said before going away from the crater, when he started to go down the volcano the ground quaked a little, due to his weight

Meanwhile the two Fire types where running out of air…The other two onixes quickly followed the other…Their walking made the ground shake almost like a little earthquake…Charmander slowly raised his head above the surface of the Lava lake. "I think they´re gone" the lizard said, before taking a deep breath. Cyndaquil let go of Charmander "I couldn't have held my breath to much longer" the fire mouse said before getting out of the Lava and shaking her body in order to get rid of some of the fiery liquid, which was still on her. The fiery reptile did the same before slowly approaching the craters edge and looking for the direction in which the rock types had left. Three big trails on the ground gave answer to that question." If we go the other way we can get away from them. "Cyndaquil concluded.

Charmander started climbing down the volcano, a lot quicker than Cyndaquil. "Wait, I´m not that good at climbing." Cyndaquil said before slowly catching up to Charmander. "We need to hurry if we don´t want anyone to see us here" the lizard said, before continuing to climb down but at a lower speed. Charmander's belly started to rumble... Cyndaquil started to giggle at the strange sounds coming from the hungry Pokémon. "I am pretty hungry, I could use some food myself" Charmander complained.

As the sun rose into the sky, the area got warmer than it already was. Even though the light did make things easier to see, it could also become a curse for those running around alone in these parts, especially with hungry predators on the loose watching every move, getting spotted here could mean the certain end for unwary prey. After about an hour of climbing the two Pokémon made it to the bottom of the slope. Cyndaquil started to look around nervously…" I can´t rid the feeling of being watched out here " the Pokémon with its fiery back said "We need to run over there quickly " Charmander said, pointing to a distant volcano. " If we would walk normally, we would give attackers a lot of time to find us." "Okay "Cyndaquil said before dashing towards the new destination. Charmander could keep up with her speed, but it was a lot harder for him.

Meanwhile dark clouds started to move into the area, but unlike most of the time, they were not the result of a volcanic eruption. Even though it was pretty warm here, it did rain here once in a while.

After running about half an hour, the two Pokémon reached the flank of another volcano." Wow you are pretty good at running "Charmander said, smiling at Cyndaquil. The lizard was clearly exhausted, his flame was a lot smaller then it normally was. "I´m used to running around a lot here" Cyndaquil said, before getting close to Charmander. "Thanks for always helping me out" Cyndaquil said before rubbing her head against his legs. "Fire types got to hold together" Charmander said, before getting on his knees and wanting to give Cyndaquil a kiss, but just before his lips reached her cheek, Charmander noticed his shoulder getting wet. "Oh no it´s raining now what?" Cyndaquil said?

The shower started to wet the whole Landscape , making the ground muddy. Since most Pokémon hated water , they all started to look for shelter as soon as it rained.

Charmander noticed a very small cave on the flank of the volcano not to far above him. "We can wait it out in there" Charmander said, before climbing up towards the entrance." Ugh not more climbing…" Cyndaquil said, before she followed him. The rain felt especially cold for Fire Pokémon due to the difference in temperature between the cold water and the warm skin temperature.

As the two fire types got closer the rain got stronger. But after a few more minutes they made it into the cave."At least no one else can get here, because the entrance would probably be too small." Charmander said. Before walking to the back of the cave but after a few steps he stopped, like someone or something froze him. "Cyndaquil, are you seeing what I am seeing?"The lizard said, shocked about what was in front of them.

- End of Chapter 3-


	4. Revival of Destiny

After finding shelter from the rain outside by hiding in a cave, the two Pokémon were looking at, what only could be described as a mysterious garden. The cave ended up into a big and tall room with a little opening at the very top, and in the center there was a little lake, that apparently had formed due to the water coming in from the top at regular times. By the looks of the place one could guess it was something like an empty volcano. The nutrients in the ground in combination with the water here and the light coming in from the top allowed plants here grow freely. The peace and quiet took over the two Pokemon who had been on the run for the past few days.

Charmander looked closely at the plants. "Are …are those plants bearing berries?" the lizard carefully asked. Cyndaquil was taken by the stunning sight of the green plants, which are rare in these parts … The fire mouse Pokémon approached one of the plants and touched a yellow berry with her nose. "Smells like sitrus berries …" she took a bite… "And it tastes like one too "Cyndaquil said before eating the rest of it. Charmander ran over to Cyndaquil and plucked one of the berries and ate it right away…"You can´t imagine how long I have been hungry "the lizard said, before plucking another berry and eating it. " I take that as sign that we have to go on "The fire mouse said to Charmander.

After some more berries Charmander and Cyndaquil just laid on the ground, satisfied, free of hunger and without any unwanted followers to worry about. "How about we live here" Cyndaquil suggested "I mean there is food and it´s safe here "I guess so, but we have to make sure no one else knows about this place." The lizard said. The fire mouse came closer to Charmander "we are all alone here, no one will ever find out about this place. "she said , before looking into the lizard´s eyes " not only did you save me from being eaten but you also helped me find some food…" the fire type said before getting close to Charmanders head and giving him a kiss onto his lips. " Charmander blushed before he put his arms around Cyndaquil " I never thought I would find someone in this place who I could trust , someone I could love …well I´m glad you proved me wrong " Charmander said before kissing Cyndaquil .

After a few more romantic gestures of the fire type Pokémon the light that shone through the hole in the cave got brighter, due to the rainy clouds outside vanishing. The watery pond reflected the light making the cave sparkle. This place was like an oasis in the middle of a desert … It was quiet and hardly any noise coming from outside could be heard.

The peaceful atmosphere was shattered by a loud sound outside, like someone had fallen. "Don´t tell me it is who I think it is"Cyndaquil said before looking to the caves little entrance and making her back burn brighter "the noise was too little for it to be those guys…" Charmander walked to the exit of the cave.

Outside, far away from the volcano, something green was lying right in the middle of the valley. "That´s a Pokémon. We should try and help " Cyndaquil said "You bet I will" Charmander said before running down the mountain. Cyndaquil quickly caught up with him.

Meanwhile the sun had started to sink again, coloring the skies in tinges of orange and red, making it look like the world were on fire , although one might think that the world as it was there might be one fire due to the constant eruptions…but the fire on the outside paled in comparison with the will burning within the Pokemon who where willing to go on in this dangerous place. After a few Minutes the two fires Pokémon made it to the bottom of the slope and started to run towards the green Pokémon they had spotted from their new home…one couldn´t tell if the creature had just decided to pick a bad place for a nap, or if it was just exhausted.

After a few Minutes of running they found a Pokémon with Ivy like leaf on his tail and a snake like body lying on the ground. It opened its little and red but sharp eyes…" Where am I?" The little Pokémon said, while looking around before starting to shiver… "A volcanic place...how could they?" the Snake said. "What brings you out here? " Cyndaquil asked " My parents though I was too weak , so they wanted to get rid of me… and deciding that giving me less food wasn´t enough , they got a bird Pokémon to drop me here…by the way I´m Snivy" the grass type said before raising her head " that does not mean I´m weak though…" Snivy said before looking at the other two Pokémon" we were worried about you " Charmander said " besides wandering around through the valleys here is unsafe " Cyndaquil added. " Oh really … I wouldn´t know why that would be! "Snivy said, before taking a closer look at the landscape

The next second the ground started to tremble and three fearsome but familiar Pokémon came out of the ground... "Watch out! "Cyndaquil warned everyone... Snivy was totally shocked due to the things happening…" wow someone has to be hungry here ." the snake commentated " Let´s finish where we started the last time shall we. " a weird onix said , looking very angry at the Charmander whose Iron tail attack had deformed his head the day before. "It´s feeding time", one of the other rock Pokémon said…." If you want us you´ll have to be good, right? "Snivy said looking at the two fire Pokémon for support. Charmander made his Flame flare up while Cyndaquil made his back burn hotter.

The three Onixes started to get in a circle formation in order to surround the smaller Pokémon.

-end of chapter 4-


	5. Fighting Flammes

After the surprise attack by the three rock Pokémon, Charmander, Cyndaquil and Snivy got ready to fight them off. The sun had started to set, slowly darkening the area; however the will of the attacked Pokémon was shining as bright as can be.

One of the Onixes roared "Dragonbreath!", before opening his mouth and shooting a bright and colored beam of energy towards Snivy. The Snake Pokémon effortlessly dodged the attack by jumping into the air. The she started to spin in midair before saying "Leaf Blade" and making her tail glow green. Before striking the rock Pokémon's head. Although he was big and heavy, the blow of the attack made him fall over, he didn´t get up… "Not very skilled, are you?" Snivy said, raising her nose into the air. The two Fire Pokémon watched in amazement what that grass type could pull off…

"Smokescreen! " Cyndaquil shouted, before enveloping the deformed Onix in a cloud of smoke… "Slam! " the third Onix roared , before charging at Snivy with his full body , who was still caught in her self confidence…The grass type took the full blow of the attack and was sent flying a few yards, before she landed…The same Onix rushed over to Snivy to finish for good.

Charmander quickly got in the way of the Onix, before yelling "Flamethrower ", opening his mouth and shooting a cloud of flames towards the rock Pokémon. " two can play that game " Cyndaquil said before shooting her own Flamethrower to join Charmander´s attack…The surprised Onixes head was glowing brightly due to the enormous heat… Snivy was totally fascinated by the power of the two Fire Pokémon and especially by how they fought just to protect her…she tried getting up but was stopped by her hurt leg…the Onix fell to the ground with his full weight, making everything underneath him flat like a pancake…

Cyndaquil rushed over to Snivy. "Are you fine?" the fire mouse Pokémon asked. "No, I think by leg is br…"the ground underneath Cyndaquil broke before the third and last onix attacked Cyndaquil … " take that "he yelled...The fire mouse Pokémon flew high into the air, before landing on the ground…In the next second , a large piece of rock was blasted out of the Onixes face, due to Charmander using an iron tail attack…" you ´ll need to go through me , before you take on my friends" the fire lizard said , grinning at the Onix who looked even more beaten up then before…

It roared loudly, before digging into the ground...the other two Onixes quickly followed…, then it got quiet. The sun was just about to go out of sight and the Landscape was wrapped in darkness, but the Lavastreams and volcanic craters made the night not as dark as it could be…"

"My belly hurts and I feel dizzy " Cyndaquil complained, her face expression made it clearly visible that she was in great pain…her Flame was very small…" Those fools have broken my leg!" Snivy said, staggering over to Cyndaquil and Charmander…" you´ll be fine " the other Fire type said, comforting his wounded friend."Where do you live at ?" the grass type wondered, looking around..."In that cave " Charmander said, pointing at his new hideout. "Looks fine to me " Snivy said…" I´ll carry you, you´re pretty brave after all." She said, before making two vines extend from her back and wrapping them around Cyndaquil, who had but out her fiery back…then the grass type lifted up Cyndaquil before starting to stagger towards the cave Charmander had pointed at… "Wow you´re pretty friendly "the fire mouse said, looking at Snivy.

And so the three Pokémon walked slowly, through the night, towards the cave in hopes of finding shelter. After, what seemed like hours the Pokémon made it to the slope of the "volcano", before starting to climb. "You´re pretty heavy" Snivy said..little droplets of sweat started to form on her forehead…"don´t scary predators come out at night" Cyndaquil said , while the Pokémon started to climb towards the cave…"They say at night, a gang of quick and strong Pokémon charges through the valleys…" the fire mouse went on " Really?" Snivy wondered…" when I was back in my tribe there were always stories of Pokémon who would whinny before they attacked someone, trying to rob them for food and other things. ""We better get to our new place if we don´t want to run into them, I guess" Charmander said…

After a few more minutes of climbing, the two Pokémon reached the small entrance to the cave…Snivy put down Cyndaquil, who ignited her back again… Then the grass type stood still and gazed at the hidden garden, which was only visible due to Charmander´s flame…" I´ll definitely enjoy staying here." The grass type said, before walking over to a plant and plucking two Sitrus berries "Here you go, you need it. " The Snake Pokémon said, putting down a sitrus berry right in front of Cyndaquil… The fire mouse took a bite..." my bellyache is gone!" she said happily… Snivy had eaten the second berry in order to heal herself as well.

Charmander yawned loudly and released a little fireball in the process. "I really some need sleep" the lizard said, before laying down on his back ..."Today was a pretty full day." Cyndaquil said before looking into Charmander´s eyes. "You're a great friend to have out here. " She said before kissing Charmander and rubbing her head against Charmander´s right cheek…" Today had enough excitement for me "Snivy said, before lying down…" Do you mind if I sleep close next to you? I hate solitude and I like to be warm. ""Sure why not?" Charmander said. Snivy laid her head on Charmander´s belly. "I had hoped you would like that "Cyndaquil said, looking into the Snake Pokemon´s red eyes. Charmander put his left arm around Snivy .. "Hmm this is nice. " The Grass type said. Charmander stroked Cyndaquil´s head with his right hand before letting it rest on Cyndaquil´s fiery back "Good night everyone. " The fire mouse said, before putting out her back and closing her eyes. "Good night to you too Snivy said, before looking into Charmander´s blue eyes…Then she put her head on the lizards belly and slept just like everyone else did.


	6. Flickering Future

After rescuing a Snivy, the grass type decided to sleep together with Charmander and Cyndaquil. In the comforting safety of each other, the three Pokémon slept through the night, which was occasionally brightened by nearby volcanic eruptions. After many hours, the sun broke through the darkness, being bright like a shooting star.

Charmander was sleeping peacefully, until he noticed something tickling his feet…"he-he-hey what´s up?" The lizard said, opening his eyes and giggling. The fire type noticed Snivy, who had used her vines to wake charmander. " It´s morning, you know ?" the grass Pokémon said, before looking over to Cyndaquil, who was still asleep…she was probably dreaming , due to her back releasing little sparks ,although it was not was not burning…

"Little dreamer ey? " Snivy said, extending her vines towards the fire mouse Pokémon "Wait I´ll shows you how to wake her." Charmander interrupted. The lizard walked over to Cyndaquil and gave her a kiss … "hmm, Charmander …I love you too …" The Fire type said, opening her eyes. "Humph, how boring!" Snivy said , before going to the little pond in the center of the cave and jumping in…Charmander and Cyndaquil looked at each other, shaking their heads…After a few seconds the snake Pokémon climbed out , shaking of some water on her…"Nothing beats a quick bath in the morning " the grass type said, raising her nose into the air.

"Sooo, where are you two headed to? " Snivy wondered. "We don´t really have a place to go to, that´s why we considered staying here "Charmander explained. "There is a place I do know, where Pokémon help others in danger and in return, they let you stay there, and you get food and valuables." Snivy went on "For that we´d have to get stronger, wouldn´t we?" Cyndaquil said. "How about we train our attacks a little?" Charmander suggested. "Me too?" Snivy said. The two fire Pokémon gave Snivy some angry looks "Okay, okay " the snake Pokémon complied.

"Watch my Flamethrower " the fire lizard, before breathing a cloud of fire at the wall of the cave, which had turned a little red after charmander stopped. " My turn " Cyndaquil said , " aiming a Flamethrower attack at a different spot of the wall …"Wow " Snivy muttered to herself,looking amazed at what the Pokemon showed of. There was a bright and glowing orange circle, where Cyndaquil had aimed at" try breathing in more air ,before using your fire attacks . Our fire lungs heat up, the more oxygen the get" Cyndaquil explained.

"Once more " Charmander said, giving the advice from Cyndaquil a try. The lizard took a deep breath, before releasing the cloudy inferno… the part of the wall that Charmander attacked was glowing almost as bright as Cyndaquil´s spot… the fire type started to cough and little clouds of smoke came out of his mouth. "Wow that´s pretty tough to do ..." " it does require a little getting used to .." the fire mouse Pokémon explained before looking at Snivy, who was just standing around, doing nothing." You really should use your attacks regularly " Charmander said. "Well I´m strong enough, but if you really want to see …" Snivy made her tail glow bright and green…

A barking sound broke through the training lesson… the three Pokémon looked towards the cave´s entrance..." who could that be?" Cyndaquil wondered. "Have they ever heard of privacy ?" Snivy said, before making her way towards the exit... "Oh rats… come quick" the grass type said. Charmander and Cyndaquil rushed over to Snivy who had been calling from outside.

Two black colored dog Pokémon with red bellies had surrounded the three Pokémon…"this is going be our home because we are going to take it from you "one of them barked …" I´d like to see you try" Snivy said… "Flamethrower" the other one said before attacking Snivy, who was totally unprepared…" aaaaaooow!" the snake Pokémon yelled…she was getting dizzy ..." you fire types…are... just weird… " The snake Pokémon said, staggering around "We Houndoom take what we want " the dog Pokémon said. "Flamewheel!" Cyndaquil yelled, wrapping herself in a ball of flames and homing in on one of the invaders, who for some reason didn´t dodge the attack …when the fire mouse Pokémon came in contact with the Houndoom´s skin...he started to flash red…Cyndaquil stopped spinning .. "Flamethrower! " the dog Pokémon said, countering the attack. Although Cyndaquil was a fire type, the blow was a lot tougher than expected…she was breathing heavily…" What happened …" the little fire mouse Pokémon wondered, shaking her head…" they can absorb fire" Charmander explained…" Slash! "Charmander screamed, raising his hand and running at one of the dog Pokémon getting ready to attack with his sharp claws. " Dark Pulse!" He muttered, releasing a wave of dark energy, which struck the lizard with its full power…" sooo strong…." Charmander stuttered, before falling and becoming unconscious…

" Nooo!" Cyndaquil said running over to Charmander… " This isn´t over Snivy said , making her ivy leaf glow brightly , before jumping into the air and dropping onto a Houndoom …"Fire Fang" he barked , biting Snivy´s tail when she tried to attack…" let gooaa" Snivy screamed, due to the great pain she was in, before slowly losing her consciousness..The burns had done more damage than it seemed…." Just…can´t...quit" Cyndaquil thought to herself.." Swift!", the fire mouse yelled, making a last attempt to avoid defeat…She shot a bunch of stars towards the dog Pokémon…their grin on their faces was wide…they knew how close they were from a safe haven in this place…" Dark Pulse " they both said , their voices sounded deep , almost like they were whispering… The attacks knocked over Cyndaquil who was slowly fainting. With Cyndaquil fainting , the hope for the trio of Pokémon was slowly dying away, just like a campfire dies down…Out of the corner of her eye Cyndaquil spotted, what could be described as a star in the sky… Was it an eruption or even something like a Pokémon heaven?

-End of Chapter 6-


	7. Reincarnated Past

Charmander slowly opened his eyes… his head was hurting… the lizard Pokémon looked around ….after a few seconds he realized he was flying in the sky, but he was riding on something strange but somehow familiar " Um who are you ? And where are Cyndaquil and Snivy? "He asked … the being he was flying on had big and orange wings …and a flame on the tip of his tail…" I spotted you when you got in trouble there…I can take you to safety….I´m Charizard by the way…." The Pokémon said… "Your friends… they got wounded very seriously…" Charizard raised her hands, in which she was holding Snivy and Cyndaquil... They were still unconscious …

From up here, the Lavastreams looked like liquid gold, as they melted their way through the landscape and the volcanoes looked so small… one of them erupted, it looked like a cloud of embers…the skies up here were a bit hazy due to volcanic gases streaming into the atmosphere…the sun was at about 12 o´clock… Charmander started to imagine, what it would be like, when he would into a Charizard one day… He could fly over all the dangers… but that moment was distant…

"Where are we headed to?" Charmander asked "The place where I live at…" The lizard Pokémon tried to remember what happened before he passed out…" wait... did you beat those dog Pokémon?" The lizard wanted to know..." No, I just distracted them with a smokescreen attack" Charizard answered… suddenly Cyndaquil started to move… she opened her eyes… at sight of the height she was in , the fire mouse Pokémon ignited her back and started to scream in panic… " Calm down..." Charizard said "it´s safe, don´t worry. You´ll be fine …" the Fire and Flying type said, trying to calm Cyndaquil down…" hey what´s wrong with Snivy?" The fire mouse Pokémon wondered…"she took some serious burns…" Charizard explained…"

As Charizard flew on, the amount of lava streams got fewer… and volcanoes here didn´t look, like they had erupted in recent times…the air was a lot cooler and fresher…"were going to land soon " Charizard said, before he decreased his height …"weee! This is fun" Cyndaquil said. After a few minutes of flying Charizard had landed in front of a hole in the ground…"I know it´s not a luxurious place, but it´s home" she said …Charmander took a closer look at Charizard …her Flame was a lot bigger than his, her eyes were sky blue, and she had some kind of horns on her head…Charmander started to remember where he had last seen eyes like that, until it shot through his mind, like an eruption… Cyndaquil had gone into the hole… Charizard had put Snivy down… "Do you have any offspring?" Charmander asked... he was clearly nervous about asking something like that… "Well there was one son that I had …" tears started to form in her eyes.."but he died during a Landslide…he was in a cave…he probably got covered by dirt and …" Charizard fell to her knees, tears started to run down her face "I always loved him …I can´t forget him…" her tears started to drop to the ground, her flame started to flicker…then she looked at Charmander before she realized, that he was not any Charmander… "Could it be …" she whispered… "I dug myself out of the hole " the lizard Pokémon explained… "I´m sorry I doubted you " Charizard said…Charmander ran towards his mother and hugged her…

Cyndaquil came back out of the cave... "what is going on?" the Fire mouse asked… but when she took a closer look, she understood what was going on… "Congrationlations " the fire mouse Pokémon said, rubbing her head against Charmander… " I´m prouder of you then I ever have been, you survived in the wilderness and even found some reliable friends ... "Charizard said, patting the back of her son…

"Ooooww" a moan from Snivy interrupted the peaceful reunion… The snake Pokémon opened her eyes "Wait, I got some berries that will help your burns, but you do need some rest ..." Charizard explained… Snivy´s wounds looked very painful she had some kind of blisters all over her body…"really? " Snivy tried to get up, but the pain dominated her will…" have a rawst berry ..." Charizard suggested, handing a green berry to Snivy…"wow giant lizard "she thought to herself…the Snake Pokémon slowly ate the rather small berry…some of the burns disappeared, but Snivy was still very weak…Charmander explained what happened…" wow sounds complicated…"The grass type commentated. Snivy tried getting up again, even though it worked, the grass type was still in big pain...she could hardly walk.

The hole ended up into a small tunnel just below the surface…

Charizard carried Snivy into the cave…"well you don´t see grass types around these parts regularly…" Snivy explained what happened to her and how she ended up being in this kind of Landscape…"They really did that? I´m sorry to hear that…" the Flame Pokémon said…" I hate them for that…" "Those are some though words, but I probably would feel the same if someone did that to me..."

By the way this is where you can sleep at " Charizard said, pointing to a bunch of hay which was spread out in the back of the cave… "Hmm this is nice and soft " Cyndaquil said, walking onto the hay "watch out, so you don´t ignite it okay?" She said, looking at the other three Pokémon…they all nodded… "Well I don´t have any more berries here, well have to find some around here Charmander´s mom said… "I´m going to stay here okay?" Snivy said, lying down on the hay…" No prob, it´s pretty safe, since hardly anyone knows about this place… "Charizard explained…

After a few Minutes the fire Pokémon got back to the surface… "hop on you two" Charizard said… and after the smaller Fire Pokémon got on her back, they lifted off into the skies in search of food …

-End of Chapter 7-


	8. Striking Sorrow

Slowly Charizard rose into the sky, along with Charmander and Cyndaquil who were riding on her back...Meanwhile Snivy was left at Charizards home, so she could get some rest...

"Keep your eyes open for any meadows which do grow close to inactive volcanoes, usually there are berries growing near them." Charizard instructed "Okay" Charmander and Cyndaquil said … Charmander let its view scan the area ...parts of the landscape were elevated by tectonic activities ...most volcanoes here were dormant, some of them had black traces from cooled lava on their flanks... but nothing green in sight...

"Wait I think I see something" Cyndaquil suddenly said, after a few minutes of flying...The fire mouse Pokémon pointed to a small valley he had spotted in the distance... Charizard slowly lowered her altitude... It almost felt like dream to see anything green in this landscape... the Flame Pokémon landed right in the middle of the hidden oasis Cyndaquil had spotted...

Charmander quickly got of his moms back and started to look around... The grass underneath his feet was an unusual feeling... Cyndaquil raised her nose into the air " I smell... berries " the fire mouse Pokémon stated... she put out her fire , before she laid on her back and started to roll around " yay , this is fun! "... Charizard approached a little bush and started to pluck some berries..." Oran berries should be fine especially for Snivy " Charizard thought to herself, while plucking some blue berries... Charmander was watching Cyndaquil, who was enjoying this journey more than anybody...

After a few minutes Charizard had hands full of berries in different colors. "Okay time to go back and look after Snivy you two " Charizard said … "that was fun " Cyndaquil said, before she noticed all the green spots that the grass had left on her … Charizard laid down, giving Charmander and Cyndaquil a sign to get on …" how do I get that stuff of?" the fire mouse Pokémon said, while Charizard rose into the air... "I know, hold still " Charmander said, before he took a deep breath and started to breathe some fire at Cyndaquil... The green tinges on the fire type started to burn away … "That feels nice " Cyndaquil said, looking into Charmanders eyes... "You´re all clean now" the lizard Pokémon said, looking at Cyndaquil …

The sun started to set on the landscape, coloring the sky in the colors of the rainbow... after a few Minutes Charizard started to get close to the ground ... all of sudden, the shadows of some Pokémon that were fleeing from Charizards cave could be spotted from above... "Oh no... What is going on down there" Charizard said, before she started to fly towards the ground next to her cave...the sudden landing resulted in Charmander and Cyndaquil getting thrown off...? " Sorry " Charizard said, before rushing into the cave...

Snivy was still lying on the hay, but she had even more wounds all over her body… It looked like someone had bitten her many times... The grass type was laying on the ground... she wasn´t moving... "Thank you for coming. " ... The Snake Pokémon said, breathing heavily... "Some dog Pokémon tried to turn me into their meal, but when you came they ran off... those cowards! " she stated. "Here" Charizard said, giving Snivy a blue colored berry … Charmander noticed many wounds on the grass type, some of them were burns from the previous battle...

Snivy quickly ate the berry... "Hmm that´s better. " She said, and seconds later, some of the wounds had vanished… "We better sleep, if we don´t want to wake up tomorrow, being all tired. " Cyndaquil said…"We went through a lot today" Charmander analyzed, and then he laid down on the hay right next to Snivy…"Cyndaquil rubbed her nose against Charmander, who gave her kiss in return… then Cyndaquil cuddled up right next to Charmander… "Looks like you´ve even fallen in love" Charizard noticed… "I guess so … " Charmander said… "I definitely have. " Cyndaquil said, looking into Charmanders blue eyes… Charizard laid down too… "Good night" everyone Charmander said, before falling asleep.

As the night enveloped the landscape, it got cooler and quiet… but it was the kind of quiet, that could hide the many dangers of the night and due to the darkness, any movement was easily overlooked… The only thing that broke through the dark where the stars in the sky, which sparkled like little diamonds… The night passed quickly and after a few hours it was sunrise, the sky turned bright red and light had fallen into the cave…

Charmander opened his eyes, looking around, Snivy was still asleep and so was his mom, but when he turned around to look for Cyndaquil, the Pokémon was nowhere in sight, instead there was a little Paper on the ground… "Get rid of then one who doesn´t belong here, if you want to see your friend ever again…" was, what the apparent kidnappers had written…

"Wake up everyone " the lizard Pokémon yelled. Charizard slowly opened her eyes..."What´s wrong? " Charizard wondered… Charmander showed her the letter… "What´s with all the noise? " Snivy complained... "Cyndaquil got kidnapped and the guys who did it want you to go away…" Charmander explained to the Snake Pokémon "Well if we find those fiends we can show them, that I can be where ever I want to be" the grass type said...

"Looks like they weren´t the smartest" Charizard said, noticing some black trail that the unknown Pokémon had left behind... If it was an accident or an intended path leading to a trap was not clear, but Charmander was clearly determined to save his friend "I'll show them what happens if you mess with my friend Charmander said, before going outside…Snivy slowly got up, most of her wounds were gone…"They started a fight with me and I´m not done yet" Snivy said, following Charmander… Charizard followed the two smaller Pokémon in search of Cyndaquil

-End of Chapter 7 -


	9. Boundless Feelings

After Cyndaquil´s disappearance and the discovery of a note left behind , indicating , that the fire mouse Pokémon did not leave out of her own will, Charizard, Charmander and Snivy found a trail of something black , which kind of looked like ash… The sun was rising into the air , brightening the area , but Charmander was not in the mood to pay attention to something like that , due to his closest friend being in trouble…"maybe we can follow that trail from above, without taking a long time" Charmanders mom suggested…

Seconds later Charmander and Snivy where on the flame Pokémon's back, who lifted off, but this time the flight was at a much lower height, due to the trail being hard to see from above. "I sure hope Cyndaquil is fine " Charmander said, looking really nervous, although he was sure that something bad had happened to his friend… " Don´t worry Cyndaquil did look pretty strong to me , she ´ll be fine " Charizard said , trying to cheer the Lizard Pokémon up…" those jerks are going to find out , how it can end if you attack me like that " Snivy interrupted…Snivy enjoyed being up here , due to the sunlight being a little more intense…

Charmander was thinking about what he had been through with Cyndaquil a while back , and how close they have grown together, while Charizard passed many rows of mountains , following the black dust like trace on the ground…After many minutes Charizard started to fly in place …" I think we are where we need to be. " She said , pointing at a mountain in front of them…apparently the black material led into it… Charmander quickly got of…" Snivy? " the lizard Pokémon said…" the snake Pokémon opened her eyes and started to yawn…" this is important you know ? How can you sleep at a time like this ?" Charmander wondered… Snivy slowly got of Charizards back …" I do need my sleep.." Snivy said , raising her nose into the air…

The site they had landed in , was a rocky wasteland with absolutely no sign of anyone or anything out here being able to live…. On the slope of the mountain was a little cave not far from them…Charizard tried to fit through the entrance , but she was just too big… " Okay we´re going to go in on our own then " Charmander said , looking at Snivy , who quickly started to go into the tunnel leading into the rocky elevation… " Be careful" Charizard said… " the Charmander followed Snivy …The cave system itself was rather simple it was not branching of anywhere, it was just a straight path…

Meanwhile Cyndaquil who was tied up with some sort of Chains , had woken up… "Wh-where am I ? " the fire mouse Pokémon wondered , looking around… "silence!" a deep voice said…although there was no one in sight… all of a sudden some sort of bowl started to hover towards Cyndaquil… when it was above the fire type , it dumped its content , which was clear but cold water… " Agh…let me go! " She said , igniting her back , but she just couldn´t break free , due to the Chains somehow being able to withstand the heat… out of nowhere a big ball of water appeared on top of Cyndaquil, which exploded a second later , soaking Cyndaquil… The Pokémon was shivering all over her body and had put out her fire "please let me go…" she said… " can´t do that " the voice said , "you are our captive" the more you annoy us the more we annoy you … a higher pitched voice said… before water droplets from the ceiling started to drop onto Cyndaquil , who couldn´t move a step…

After a few more minutes of water torture, Charmander and Snivy found a Chamber deep inside the mountain… Cyndaquil was lying in the center… Charmander tried to approach the freezing and shivering Pokémon, but was stopped by a creature that looked a bit like jellyfish ,blocked his path , along with two other ghost types appearing out of nowhere.. " Leave , if you don´t want to suffer. " the frillish said … " You know you want to " a round and gaseous Pokémon said… Charmander winked at Snivy , before taking a deep breath " Flamethrower ! " the lizard yelled , releasing a cloud of flames towards the Gastly, who took the full blast of the surprising fire attack… The ghost type fell to the ground , not moving at all…." rebellious ey? " The floating Pokémon interrupted , creating an orb of water " Water pulse " it muttered , throwing the concentrated liquid at the fire type… Charmander tried dodging it , but he jumped too late and was hit… Charmander was sent flying against the cave wall after the ball of water detonated " I have had it with you " Snivy said before making her tail glow and jumping into the air and then dropping onto the frillish " let´s see how you like my leaf blade " the grass type said…

Charmander fell… he slowly got up , although the attack didn´t look that strong , it had done more damage than it seemed… he watched , as Snivy executed her attack … the ghost Pokémon couldn´t get out of the way , due to the snake Pokémon being so fast… " Ow you will pay…." The staggering jellyfish Pokémon said , before whispering "Ominous wind " … a gust of repulsive wind stared to whip up and Snivy was sent flying a few meters… " You are going to lose" the water type said , almost in a howling voice … " Smokescreen " Charmander yelled , although he was taking the attack to…. The water Pokémon started to get nervous , due to him not knowing how this battle would end…Charmander snuck past the ghost type and ran over to Cyndaquil… the other Gastly tried stopping him , but Charmander managed to use his sharp claws to break the chains, before the gaseous Pokémon could do anything about it… " Hypnosis " the poison type " whispered , staring into Charmanders eyes… " the Pokémon staggered around, before falling into a deep sleep" hehe take that " he whispered…

All of a sudden Cyndaquil realized , that she was set free…she ignited her back , before yelling "lava Plume " and shooting an inferno of scarlet flames from her back all over the place… The Gastly who was right next to Cyndaquil fainted immediately … the fire mouse noticed Charmander in front of her… she quickly dashed over to him…" Water pulse " Frillish said , blasting Cyndaquil with another water attack, who was starting to get dizzy , due to all the water attacks… " hiya " Snivy said , jumping into the air and releasing another leaf blade… the ghost type staggered around, before falling to the ground…

Cyndaquil staggered over to the sleeping lizard Pokémon, before she started crying… " thank you so much for coming to save me " she said, trying to hold back her tears over the enjoyment , that her friend had come this far and had gone through so much just to save her, she rubbed her nose against his cheek…"thank you to " Cyndaquil said looking at Snivy…" revenge is sweet" the snake Pokémon whispered…

After a few minutes Charmander woke ,opening his eyes … he spotted Cyndaquil so close to him " thank goodness you are save " the lizard Pokémon said, stroking Cyndaquil's head…" I hoped I could do that again , to tell you , that I really love you " Charmander said , looking into Cyndaquil's eyes… they sparkled like shooting starts when those words came out of the lizard's mouth… "I always hoped you would feel like that for me " the fire mouse Pokémon whispered , before tear started to run down her face… " The day we first met I told myself , that I'm going to take care of you , because I really felt close to you … " the lizard said, kissing Cyndaquil , who did the same… " Especially since I knew you , I felt it was right to leave my tribe …"the fire mouse said , while cuddling with Charmander…

"Oh dear, lovers…" Snivy thought to herself… after a surprisingly amorous reunion of the two fire Pokémon

-End of Chapter 9 -


	10. A new star on the horizon

After locating and saving Cyndaquil, Charmander confessed his feelings to her. The fire mouse Pokémon had many wounds and bruises all over her, but that didn´t stop her from getting so close to Charmander and letting her emotions run wild. Her eyesight was blurry and she could hardly walk… "Can we get out of here soon?" Snivy interrupted. "Sure, my mom's probably worried by now anyway…" Charmander said, before he got up. "Oooowww…" Cyndaquil moaned, when she tried walking a little… " I wonder how often I´m going to do this " Snivy said , before she extended her vines and wrapped them around Cyndaquil, who had put her fire out … a second later, Snivy lifted the Fire mouse Pokémon up, "Thank you! " she said , while she grinned , although her facial expression showed that she was trying to suppress the pain she was in…

After lifting the wounded Cyndaquil, Snivy and Charmander walked back through the tunnel they had come from… The path through the mountain seemed endless, there were many twists and turns. "So how did they get you all the way out here?" Snivy wondered… "Well when they showed up at our place, they somehow paralyzed me, so I couldn´t really move…, but I did manage to use my Smokescreen, so there would be a little black trail…, since it was night, they didn´t see it" Cyndaquil explained. The fire Pokémon looked at Charmander, she could feel her heart beat quicker, when she gazed at his blue eyes… After a few more minutes of walking, the three Pokémon did make it outside…Charmander´s mom was, where she had landed at earlier…

When the three smaller Pokémon got to Charizard, she revealed an Oran Berry that she had been hiding… " I guessed you would probably need one of them " The Flame Pokémon said, before she held out the berry in front of Cyndaquil, the Fire mouse Pokémon took a bite… many of the wounds vanished almost instantly … " hmm… thanks " she said, while chewing the berry. Snivy let Cyndaquil down and drew back her vines… Even though it looked like the fire type was healed, she did seem rather tired… Charmander touched her forehead "Wow you feel pretty cold" the lizard Pokémon analyzed… "I know how to help that " his mom suddenly said, before she laid down and Snivy Charmander and Cyndaquil got on her back… she lifted off into the skies …

"Where are we going now? " Snivy asked… "It´s a nice and warm place. " The Flame Pokémon said … Snivy grinned, she always liked the warmth and especially the rays of the sun were something she enjoyed. Even though it was rather cool up here, the sun was a lot more intense in these heights. There were hardly any clouds in the sky. As Charizard flew on the air got progressively warmer. After a few minutes Charizard lowered her height, landing on the edge of an active volcano… " you got to be kidding me " Snivy said … " I like it warm but not THAT warm !" the grass type complained, staring into the volcanic pit, which was filled with bubbling hot lava… The Snake Pokémon could hardly take the heat… "Just make sure you keep your distance" Charizard suggested... then she looked at Cyndaquil… "If you go into the lava for a few minutes you should be feeling better " Charizard went on…

Charmander was already on his way into the crater, he jumped high into the air, before he made a somersault and then he landed in the lava… Snivy just shook her head at the sight of that… the grass type cringed, when the lava splashed… "What weird creatures " she thought to herself… Cyndaquil dashed towards the crater and dived in… Charizard watched the two fire types from afar… Charmander splashed lava at Cyndaquil when she surfaced, the fire mouse Pokémon was giggling, before she swam over to Charmander and kissed him… Cyndaquil felt her body slowly getting warmer, as the lava helped her regain her strength…

After half an hour of the fire Pokémon playing in the lava, Charizard started to scan the area , as if fearing detection by someone. "We better go home soon, there is something that I do need to discuss with you " The Flame Pokémon said. " Finally, I'll never complain about water again! " Snivy said, while she looked at Charmander and Cyndaquil… The heat started to make her dizzy. Soon the two fire types started to climb out of the lava… After a few minutes Charizard had laid down, and the three Pokémon got onto her back, ready to ride back to base… The flying type lifted off, away from the crater …

Snivy had trouble with sitting so close to the fire types, as they still were hot from the lava. "I could roast a berry on their backs "The grass type thought to herself. Charmander looked at Cyndaquil, who was just resting… it was probably noon by now, and as Charizard flew on the area started to seem more and more familiar. On their way Charmander spotted a few Pokémon from afar, wandering about… Charmander thought about his adventures in the landscape and now he was really thank full for the ride … "So what do you think about that note? " Charizards mom asked Snivy. " Well in my opinion everyone should be allowed to be where he wants to and I also think, that you should live , the way you think it is right " . " That´s a good mode of living " Charizard said, while she was clearly thinking to herself about something… Soon Charizard landed in front of their base and Charmander Cyndaquil and Snivy got of her, before she rushed into her cave… the three Pokémon followed her " I was thinking about something that you three are probably able to do, but I don´t know if you want to. " Charizard said " what would that be ? " Charmander said , not knowing what his mom ment…

"I was considering, that you could form one of those teams, which go out and help others " his mom explained… "I don´t know if we would be strong enough for that" Cyndaquil said, reminiscing her kidnapping… "If you train a bit more, you´ll be able to face anything " the Flame Pokémon explained… " Maybe " Snivy said , before she looked at the other two Pokémon " I really don´t trust strangers a lot , but you two seem all right " Snivy said , before she stretched her hand out " For freedom. " The grass type said, giving the other two Pokémon a sign . " I swore that I would start a better life , when I left my tribe and I found it " she said , looking at Charmander " So I want to try to help others who are stuck in their situations " The fire mouse said, before she put her paw on top of Snivy´s hand. " For equality. " The fire type said . " Well I want to bring together the ones that are separated from others " Charmander said , while he looked at his mom , then he put his clawed hand on top of Cyndaquil´s. " For boundless friendships." The lizard Pokémon said . Then they all raised their hands into the air…

-End of Chapter 10 and probably the end of the story-


	11. Out of the nest

After deciding on becoming a rescue team, Cyndaquil, Charmander and Snivy started to look at each other. Charizard looked at them with a little amazement "Well, if you do want to be registered as a team, you´ll need to go to a place south of here, it's a cave system called lupus" . Okay then I guess we´ll be heading there right now. Charmander said, looking at his mom. As a bit of training, how about if you try going there on your own?" The flame Pokémon suggested. A-alone?" Cyndaquil wondered, the fire mouse Pokémon was clearly a bit scared , due to the unknown things that might be ahead of them. No problem , we´re going to get there in record time !" Snivy said, raising her nose into the air. "Isn´t it going to be too dangerous?" Cyndaquil asked. Charmander looked into the fire mouse's eyes. "We still have each other and if we work together we can fend off most things out there, okay? . "I hope so Cyndaquil said. "Even three giant rock Pokémon couldn´t beat the three of us, remember? We´re going to make it, you´ll see." Snivy interrupted, trying to comfort Cyndaquil. "Okay, you might be right "the fiery hedgehog said. "Well then, let´s go. Charmander said, looking at Snivy and Cyndaquil. Charizard handed her son a little bag, then the three Pokémon slowly made their way south.

It looked like it was already afternoon, due to the sun starting to sink, ahead of the three wanderers, was a small row of extinct volcanoes. It almost seemed weird having to walk like many Pokémon have to; especially considering the rides Charizard had given them the past few times. After about an hour Charmander, Cyndaquil and Snivy approached the slope of the mountains. "Who is making them so high, climbing is so annoying." Snivy said, while shaking her head and muttering some other words to her which could hardly be heard. Cyndaquil, grinned to herself, she hated mountains at least as much as Snivy did, but nonetheless the three Pokémon moved on. "I think it´s pretty fun, you get a lot of exercise while doing this. Charmander said, while climbing.

A loud crackling sound broke through the discussion, almost as sudden as an eruption. A huge boulder from the volcano had loosened and started to roll towards the Pokémon who were trying to cross the mountain. "Flamethrower" Charmander said, breathing a cloud off Flames towards the rocky surprise, trying to slow it down. But it was hopeless, due to the size of the obstacle. Charmander was swept of the flank of the mountain and started to roll towards Cyndaquil, who was climbing just a little bit behind him.

As the lizard Pokémon crashed into Cyndaquil, the fire mouse Pokémon tried to prevent Charmander from sliding any further by standing in the way of his fall. Seconds later, he could feel the warm scales of Charmanders back on her face, and then Cyndaquil quickly lowered her head. The sound of the accelerating boulder could still be heard, as it went down the mountain. Snivy could just watch from a distance and pray that the fire types would stay unscathed. Charmander looked scared as it got closer, to close to do anything about it… The lizard Pokémon just closed his eyes, getting ready for the oncoming pain.

The rock rolled over Charmanders legs, the lizard could feel, that something had broken. Charmander tried suppress from yelling to loudly, as he knew, that it would just attract unwelcome company, so just a little. Ow…" Could be heard… But his facial expression suggested that he was in a lot more pain. "Are you alright? Cyndaquil asked slowly looking up, only to see the marks that the boulder had left on Charmander… Snivy quickly came over to the fire types… "Looks like a broken leg to me Snivy said. The wounded lizard Pokémon tried standing up, … "Try leaning against me, while we go up those last few feet , so you don´t have to stand on your bad leg Snivy suggested. Okay, thanks. Charmander said, before doing ,as the Snake had instructed." I know how I can help you to recover from that ." Cyndaquil said , while looking up… I'll show you, once we get to the top she explained.

The top of the mountain was only few feet away, as Charmander slowly jumped along with his leg, while leaning onto Snivy and putting his right arm around her back. Cyndaquil slowly followed. After a few more Minutes the fire types made it to the top. Charmander sat down , looking at his leg "Flamethrower! Cyndaquil yelled, after she had ignited her back, while breathing fire, trying to heat up the ground… I need a few minutes, Charmander Cyndaquil said, before exhaling more fire… After many hot Fire attacks, Cyndaquil looked at the bright red spot on the ground in front of him, then he touched it… It was liquid like real lava… Okay It´s ready the fire mouse Pokémon , before making a cup with her hands and gathering some of the Lava… Charmander could see, that Cyndaquil was exhausted, her Flames on the back were dim . Snivy felt a tinge of dizziness just looking the lava… The hedgehog poured the lava onto Charmanders broken leg… It steamed, while slowly running down on the lizard´s skin. The fire type got more lava once more, which she rubbed on her wounded friend…. That feels nice. Charmander said, while looking into Cyndaquil´s eyes, he could see how much she cared about him… He was amazed at the same time , by what she did. The heat will help your body to recover from that and when it cools of it will work a lot like gypsum. Cyndaquil said, sitting down next to Charmander, she was breathing pretty deeply… Charmander kissed his exhausted friend without thinking about it. Cyndaquil blushed, before she looked into his eyes. I know you would have done the same for me. She said. Charmander grinned widely because he knew, that Cyndaquil was right. Okay I hope all that´s all the fire for today Snivy said, while slowly getting closer to the fire types, who were just enjoying the company of each other. No worries. Cyndaquil said…

The sun seemed to slowly sink into the volcanic landscape, it looked like a big meteor, especially because it had turned bright red, like it usually does in the evening. The clouds which seemed to be above the sun, reflected that light, and it looked as if the sky was burning with colorations of bright yellow and even a little bit of gold. Looks beautiful doesn´t it. Charmander said, looking at his friends. Sure does Cyndaquil said, looking at Charmander… It´s pretty nice." Snivy admitted, while starring into the Sunset. Let´s spend the night here The grass type suggested, before she lay down…" I just want to nap Charmander said. Me too… Cyndaquil said, before yawning loudly… She rubbed her head against Charmanders cheek, seconds later she was already snoozing … Good night everyone. Charmander said, before falling asleep as well….

They didn´t mind the rocky ground they had to sleep on, nobody was ready to complain, as it was only the start of a wave of troubles and challenges, that had already set off in their direction, little were they aware, of was around the corner.


	12. to hot to handle

As the night covered the landscape in darkness, many different sounds could be heard by those who were quiet enough. Many vibrations from tectonic activities shook up the ground, but the quakes were too small, to wake up any sleeping Pokémon. Some of the mountains in the distance had bright glowing tops, indicating active volcanoes. However some of the nocturnal noise was caused by other Pokémon who roamed the area, when it was dark. The night passed rather quickly and as the sun slowly began to rise into the horizon, the sky took on many different colors, showing tinges of crimson, red and even a little bit of green…

Cyndaquil was the first to wake up; she slowly opened her eyes, scanning the area for possible dangers, because other times of the day attracted different predators. In the distance Cyndaquil spotted another row of mountains, which rose into the sky… The fire mouse Pokémon looked at her new found friends, Charmander and Snivy. She walked over to Charmander, then she slowly started to lick the fire lizard's face, who opened his eyes with a big grin on his face "Good morning Cyndaquil" Charmander said to the fire mouse, before giving her a kiss… Since Charmander was awake, Cyndaquil dashed over to the sleeping grass type, ready to repeat the same process.

The fiery hedgehogs tongue slowly touched the Snake Pokémon's cheek … " What do you think you're doing ?" Snivy said , opening her red eyes… " I… I was just trying to wake you " Cyndaquil said, who was clearly surprised by Snivy´s response. " Don´t do it again , it´s ugly and I do need that face " the grass type said, raising her nose into the air. Tears started to form in the eyes of Cyndaquil. " I was just trying to be a little friendly, but you are totally rude…" her voice made it obvious, that the fire type was disappointed. " Tch! Having to find a tongue on my face is what I call rude!" Snivy said , starring angrily into Cyndaquil´s eyes… The fire mouse Pokémon started to sob and tears fell to the ground… " What do you think you're doing to Cyndaquil ?" Charmander interrupted, who was slowly staggering over to the two Pokémon. " I´m teaching her manners! ". " You must be one cold hearted Pokémon to show a reaction like that to someone who is teaching you the most important lesson of all, which is tolerance and compassion for others " Charmander said, defending his friend." Who needs that ?Skill and manners are the only things that matter!" Snivy said "Those who want to rescue others !" Charmander said." Come on Cyndaquil let´s go !" Charmander added , who was slowly going towards the mountains edge. " I don´t want you to come with us , if you are like that" . " Cyndaquil added . " I can follow who I want to, whenever I want to ." Snivy said who walked towards Cyndaquil´s position. Suddenly Charmander blew a Flamethrower attack towards the ground in front of Snivy . " I agree." Charmander said, " Next one is going to hit if you get closer " The fire lizard warned."

Without any further conversation, the two fire Pokémon parted ways with Snivy . Cyndaquil didn´t know what to feel… Sadness, for what Snivy had done, or compassion for the left behind grass Type… Charmander slowly started to climb down the other side of the mountain especially watching out , so he didn´t overuse his broken leg, which hardly hurt anymore. Cyndaquil looked up, before she followed the lizard Pokémon. " I hope we will make it down there safely. " The fire mouse Pokémon said , while looking downwards. " Take it with a bit more of confidence " Charmander said. " When we do become a rescue team, we´re going to have to overcome our challenges." The fire type went on, while climbing. "I´m usually a bit afraid, when it comes to challenges, but once I get the hang of it I do well. " Cyndaquil told the lizard Pokémon. " That´s good to know about " Charmander stated.

As the fire Pokémon kept climbing, the sun rose into an almost cloudless sky. The area they were heading into had hardly any visible vegetation. Even though the sun indicated a nice and shiny day, Cyndaquil´s head was clouded up, by the emotions that where riding around inside of the hedgehogs head. Charmander was focusing on the path and on Cyndaquil as she was the only Pokémon out here, that trusted a lot and that he had very intense feelings for. Emotions had never experienced before…

After half an hour of climbing, the duo at last reached the bottom of the slope. Cyndaquil looked back at the almost cliff like side they had climbed down from. "I…I really did all that?". The fire mouse Pokémon said, while starring at Charmander. " You sure did, you´re getting better. " The lizard Pokémon commentated his friends descend. Cyndaquil grinned widely, before walking towards Charmander. " Do you know how much I like you ?" Cyndaquil asked her reptile partner. " I do. " Charmander replied , before getting on his knees and kissing the fire mouse Pokémon. "She started to lick his face all over. " You don´t mind this , do you ? " Cyndaquil asked , somewhat already sure of Charmanders answer. " Not at all." the lizard Pokémon said, laying his arms around Cyndaquil. The emotions the two fire types showed each other did not need any words to be described. Instead it could almost be felt, how intense this eruption of feelings was.

After a few minutes of loving, the ground started to tremble, like an earthquake, but much closer… and seconds later a big rock Pokémon came out of the ground. "This is the domain of us Graveler, you better be ready for your punishment. " The rather weird Pokémon that had all sorts of little rocky and pointy ends sticking out of him said.


	13. rising pressure

Cyndaquil and Charmander looked into the angry Graveler´s eyes, who looked like he was ready to fend off the intruders the hard way, if he needed to. "We just want to pass through here. Can´t you let us go?" Cyndaquil asked carefully…"Never! Rollout!" the rugged rock type yelled, before the boulder Pokémon rolled towards the fire types at tremendous speed. Charmander was about ready to jump into the air, to perform an iron tail attack, but as soon as he put pressure on that weak foot, pain ran through his whole body. "Flamethrower!" Cyndaquil screamed, blowing a gaseous inferno towards the attacking Graveler. Cyndaquil thought about dodging, but on a second thought he knew that Charmander would be left defenseless if she did, so she stayed put. Cyndaquil was blown away from the ground, as the heavy rock type crashed into the fiery hedgehog, who was smashed against the wall of the mountain behind her. Nonetheless, the enraged Graveler kept rolling towards Cyndaquil to finish her. "No one messes with my friends! Smokescreen!" Charmander yelled, blowing a cloud of smoke and ashes. As the dusty attack enveloped the Rock Pokémon he stopped rolling. "You can´t escape this just by stalling me!" he yelled from inside Charmanders attack.

Meanwhile Cyndaquil slowly got up, after her uncomfortable crash with the wall… "Charmander?"She asked in a trembling voice… "I´m all right " the lizard Pokémon said. "Flamethrower!" The blue eyed Pokémon yelled, before aiming at the cloud, in hopes of randomly hitting their adversary. Some loud moaning and deep roaring gave answer to the result of the attack… The cloud slowly waved away. "Well if it isn´t a wounded one! Time for round two!" The rock Pokémon snickered, and then he started to roll again, but this time for Charmander. The lizard Pokémon carefully analyzed the rock Pokémon's path. Cyndaquil could only watch as the wounded lizard was attacked. "Nooo! Charmander!" she yelled in despair as she tried dashing towards Charmander, but it was obvious, she was not going to make it.

As Charmander and Graveler were only separated by a few feet, the lizard Pokémon walked a few steps to the left. Then he made his tail glow brightly. "Iron tail!" Charmander yelled, as his tail got harder, then he swung it at the Graveler who was now a little bit of course. As the two attacks collided, a big explosion surrounded the two. Graveler was hit so hard, that he was sent flying out of the detonation. "Charmander?" Cyndaquil yelled, she could hardly see what happened, she feared for the worse. Tears started to build in her eyes. Graveler groaned loudly, a big furrow on his body indicated, that he was on the painful side of that collision. Cyndaquil suddenly spotted the lizard's silhouette, as he walked out of the dusty explosion. "Never underestimate anybody!" Charmander said, then he looked at Cyndaquil, who breathed a sigh of relief. "It´s not over!" The rock type moaned as he got up. "Attack him with a Flamewheel, I have an Idea!" Charmander instructed Cyndaquil."I have to do this, for Charmander." She thought to herself, she was going to do anything to save the lizard Pokémon she had fallen in love with. Without a word the fire mouse Pokémon coated herself in flames before she started to roll towards Graveler. "Flamethrower!" Charmander yelled, but this time he was aiming at Cyndaquil.

As the attack hit Cyndaquil, she could feel, as she got faster and the heat around her increased drastically. "What the… " The Rock type said who was amazed by the team work of Charmander and Cyndaquil. He was just too stunned by the sight, to do anything about it and the injuries from the previous attacks made his body feel even heavier than it already was… The unpreventable collision with Cyndaquil´s enhanced attack dealt a surprisingly heavy blow… Cyndaquil quickly dashed away, as soon as her attack was over… The rock Pokémon's face had turned bright red, due to the exposure of the high amounts of heat. The creature staggered about, before he fell to the ground with a loud thud.

Charmander walked over to Cyndaquil, to see if she was all right. "Wow, your pretty brave. " the lizard Pokémon commentated. The little hedgehog had gotten little grazes and bruises all over her. Eventhough Cyndaquil was still standing ,she was very exhausted

"Uh I´m okay " Cyndaquil said, clearly hesitating bit, as she did not want to worry her friend. "Here, eat this. " Charmander said, while holding an Oran Berry in front of her mouth. Without any further words, the fire mouse Pokémon ate the berry in Charmanders hand. After a few bites she was finished, her wounds vanished , but she could still feel some of her body parts hurting and feeling sore. Suddenly she started to lick her friend's hand, although it was already empty. "Thank you, I really don´t know how I would have lasted here without you… " She explained, while Charmander looked at Cyndaquil. "If you didn´t fight like that, I probably would have been this guys lunch " Charmander admitted, while looking at the Pokémon, who was lying on the ground.

"We better move, if he gets back up, he´ll attack us. " Charmander said, before looking around, for the direction of their destination. " I don´t want that to happen " Cyndaquil stated."I guess if we cross this valley and maybe behind those mountains, we find what we are looking for. "Maybe?" Cyndaquil asked. "What about Snivy ?" she added, looking at her friend . " I hope she is fine. " Charmander said, while starting to walk towards their next stage on their road. Cyndaquil followed her trusted and loved friend.

Even though both Pokémon were far from good health, they moved on, their will and teamwork kept them alive in this hostile territory. Meanwhile Snivy´s status was undeterminable. As the sun rose high in the sky above the two fire types, the marched through the valley, like two soldiers who would walk through a valley, not knowing where the enemies were at, but the major difference was their love for each other and the will to do anything for another. Even though the mountain row in the distance loomed almost intimidating into the sky, the two Pokémon went on.

-End of chapter 13-


	14. renewed scars

As the two fire types started to cross the valley, Cyndaquil started to think about the past and how she got to met Charmander in the first place, she looked into the blue eyes of her partner at the thought, who didn´t notice it right away. Charmander was concentrating on getting out of the valley as quick as possible. Then he looked at Cyndaquil, who was grinning at the lizard Pokémon. "Is there something on me? " Charmander asked who was a bit scared. "No, it's just that I feel so much for you, I am so glad to have you as a friend, I feel so much safer with you around." She said. "I like you a lot too, you´re a really kindhearted Pokémon and words can hardly express what you mean to me" Charmander said , while stroking Cyndaquil head. The feeling of her friend's scales on her head made her blush a little, but it also made her confident, that her feelings were not ignored. Charmander looked at the cooled lava on his leg that had been broken the other day. "Say, Cyndaquil, how long do I actually need to wear this?" Charmander said, pointing towards the synthetic gypsum. "I´d say at least until tomorrow." Cyndaquil replied, looking at her friend's leg.

As the sun started to sink out of the center of the sky, the two Pokémon moved towards the mountain range. Charmander occasionally thought they were being watched, so he looked around a little bit more often then usual, but there was never anything in sight, that seemed threatening. However, no one could know for sure about things in this wilderness, as surprise attacks could occur anytime. After about an hour of walking they at last reached the other end of the valley, without running into any hostile Pokémon. "Well let´s get up there." Charmander said to Cyndaquil, who was looking up to the top of the mountain, which seemed especially high, because they were standing so close to it. "I hope we do. " Cyndaquil said, before she followed Charmander, who had already started to climb up .

From behind, she could watch her friend's flame, which seemed pretty calm, and she also could see Charmanders white soles. Cyndaquil was thinking if her fire was any hotter than his. The climbing by now felt like some sort of routine and as the two Pokémon slowly gained height the view of the valley got better. Cyndaquil scanned the area, especially looking out for the left behind Snivy, who she was actually worried about. But not a soul was seen around.

After another hour passed, the two fire Pokémon at last reached the top. "All right!" Charmander said, because to his surprise that mountain was an active volcano, which was filled with a lot of lava right now. Charmander slowly got into the fiery liquid, Cyndaquil quickly followed her friend into the crater. The lizard Pokémon could feel as the heat helped to wash away the stress from the past few days. He noticed a little projection of solid rock under the lava, which he sat on. Cyndaquil swam over to her fire loving friend. "Hmmm it´s so warm here, I could fall asleep." she said, while taking a closer look at Charmander. His blue eyes always made her think about the sky and about the future and in some way, she was sure, good things were in store as long as the lizard Pokémon was around.

She grabbed Charmanders right hand, the feeling of those scales was strange, but she liked it, on the other side, she could feel, how rough they were, especially around his claws, due to all the fighting and climbing from the past few days. She rubbed her head against Charmanders rather yellowish belly. Charmander was amazed by Cyndaquil, he never thought someone could like him this much . Somehow, he enjoyed the company of the fiery hedgehog as much as she did. Charmander started to stroke Cyndaquil´s back, although it was burning. At that moment Cyndaquil felt some kind of kinship with Charmander as no other type of Pokémon would able to do that without getting burned. Time passed as the two Pokémon enjoyed the relax break.

The sun slowly started to sink, as Cyndaquil got out of the crater, she spotted something in the distance that caught her eye. A pretty big Cave was quite a bit away from the volcano, there was also a wooden sign right next to it. Charmander also took a good look at the weird entrance. "Maybe it´s were we need to be." Charmander said to Cyndaquil. "But I doubt we´ll make it before the sun sets and I definitely don´t want to be wandering out here in the dark." The lizard Pokémon said. Cyndaquil shivered at the thought of something that could catch them of guard at night. "It´s pretty safe here anyway, right?" Cyndaquil said, looking at Charmander. Then she noticed that the lava brace she had made, was gone. It took a few moments for her to realize, that it had melted away in the lava pool.

"How is your leg." She asked. "It only hurts, when I put a lot of pressure on it." Charmander reported. "Maybe if your leg is better by tomorrow, we won´t need another lava brace." Cyndaquil figured. Then she yawned loudly. "I feel sooo tired, but on the other side, if it weren´t for you, I probably wouldn´t be sleeping here." She said, looking at her friend, whom she started to accept as some sort of leader. "Still, if you hadn´t helped me out with that guy, I would have been finished." Charmander said, looking into Cyndaquil's little eyes, although it was sometimes hard to tell if they were actually open, he could feel, how much those words encouraged Cyndaquil.

Charmander lay down next to Cyndaquil, who just starred at her lizard friend, it was almost a little bit frightening, but he could tell, she didn´t do it out of a bad purpose. The fire type lay down on his back, exposing his belly. Cyndaquil rubbed her head against it, before she fell asleep. She could actually hear Charmanders fire burning inside. She was very certain, nothing could endanger her. Charmander started to sleep rather quickly, as he was pretty worn out from the days twists and turns.

As the sun, once again set on the landscape another day passed. A day of survival, a day of fear, but it was good day, which brought the close ones even closer together. Additionally, their goal was at last within sight, but something already told them, they weren´t getting there the easy way.

-End of chapter 14-


	15. The outsider

The two fires Pokémon slept peacefully through the night; at least they hoped they would. Anyway, Cyndaquil dreamt about a green landscape, with trees and fresh grass everywhere, but she suddenly felt someone licking her face, someone she knew: "Ch-Charmander?" she slowly muttered, as she opened her eyes. To her surprise, it was in the middle of the night but the even greater unexpectance, was the Pokémon the tongue belonged to. Snivy had somehow tried catching up to the two fire types. Cyndaquil was startled. "What do you want now?" Cyndaquil asked.

"I´m really sorry for what I did to you two, I´m just not used to Pokémon caring so much for me, I kind of freaked out, because It was unusual, but I realize now that you licked me out of kindness. " Snivy said, her head was hanging pretty low, on a second look, however, Cyndaquil noticed many bruises and wounds on the grass type's body. "Okay, but please don´t be like that again okay? "The fire mouse demanded. "I promise." Snivy said. "What happened to you?" the hedgehog wondered, looking around.

"Down there, I ran into a bunch of rocky dudes, who attacked me, there were so many of them, I could hardly fight them so I tried running from them, but their rock throw attacks still got me, but I still made it. I felt bad for what I did to you, so I wanted to apologize. I know, you two would have gone through all that, to save me, even though I did all that." "It´s okay to have you back, I was worried about you." Cyndaquil said, looking at Charmander, who was sleeping through the whole conversation. The fire mouse Pokémon quickly ran over to the lizard, looking for the bag with the berries, and then she took an Oran berry and brought it to Snivy. "You´ll feel a lot better, if you eat this. " She said to Snivy, handing her the blue fruit. Snivy quickly chewed the healing berry then she swallowed. "To you mind, if I stay with you tonight ?" Snivy asked. " Not at all " Cyndaquil said, lying down next to Charmander. "You´re really a good friend to have. " The Snake Pokémon said, stroking Cyndaquil´s head, then she lay down next to the fire mouse Pokémon.

As night moved on, there were no more interruptions and the reunited Pokémon were ,once again, sleeping next to each other. The area around the volcano was rather strange, especially the valley, Charmander and Cyndaquil had come from had numerous craters and carvings that weren´t there before, they were now signs of warning to travelers. As the sun broke through the night and darkness vanished, the area got brighter and the light woke up the sleepy ones.

Charmander opened his blue eyes, to find Cyndaquil lying very close to him, but was stunned by the sight of Snivy being up here, but he was happy to see that she was well. Charmander started to stroke Cyndaquil's head. "Good morning." He whispered into her ears. She started to giggle, then she licked Charmanders face. Snivy was still snoozing. " It´s morning , you know?" Charmander said to the sleeping Snivy, with a big grin on his face. "Oh morning." She groaned , as she finally got up. "You see… " She wanted to explain. "Don´t worry it´s okay , I did hear what you had to tell yesterday …" Charmander said . " And besides , it´s a lot more fun to travel with more friends " he added.

Then he looked down the mountain, at their destination. "Wow, looks like we're there, aren´t we ?" Snivy said. "There is only one way to find out." Charmander said, before walking towards the other side of the mountain, then he started to climb down. Cyndaquil quickly followed. "Hey you two , wait for me." Snivy said , running after the two fire types . Then the trio started their climb downwards to a cave´s entrance, which was still a little distant, but the sight of it alone was relief enough to keep them going on.

"Ugh all this climbing…" Snivy muttered to herself, while looking downwards, meanwhile the sun rose into the sky, making the area bright and warm, but as time passed, some clouds moved into the area indicating rain. "Say how did you get so good at climbing." Snivy asked Cyndaquil as they climbed down. "Well , I guess with Charmander being around I´m a bit more confident and I have gotten a bit used to it now." She explained while looking at Charmander. "Sure, but she is also getting a lot stronger." The lizard explained. The three Pokémon talked about the events that had occurred while they were separated, and after half an hour they at last reached the end of the slope.

About a mile away was what looked a lot like a pitfall trap. "Looks kind of weird " Snivy said, analyzing the place at a distance. "And scary too." Cyndaquil added. "Don´t worry it´s gonna be fine." Charmander said with a lot of confidence. As the three wandering Pokémon at last reached the entrance, Charmander found a wooden board standing next to the hole " Canis lupus " . " We made it everyone." Charmander said. The two others had a big grin on their face , as all the hard work from the previous days had seemed to have payed off.

Suddenly a creature came crawling out of the hole, a little camel with a volcano on the back started to talk. "What do you want ?" He asked in a deep voice. "We want to get signed up as new members." Snivy explained " You ...What ?" the Numel said , before starting to giggle. "Seriously you probably can´t even pass the test." He said looking at Snivy. "We can pass anything when we need to." The grass type said in an angry voice. "Okay you asked for it, don´t say I didn´t warn you." He sneered, then he gave the trio a sign to follow him into the hole.

Actually, there was a spiral staircase leading downwards. After a while, they came to a room with two wooden doors. The mean Numel went into the room to the right. Apparently, he was discussing with someone, meanwhile some other Pokémon, two Growlithes came out from a staircase behind them. They giggled at the sight of Snivy, then they walked right past the three and towards the surface level. "Don´t worry, you´re easily as good as anyone in here." Cyndaquil said , trying to comfort Snivy who was clearly a bit enraged.

Then Numel came out of the room. "Okay here is the deal, you have to fight three random Pokémon in here, win two of these fights and you win."He explained." Okay in here." he said , while walking to the other door, it had a big Flame symbol which was carved in, so others would recognize it. Inside was a big hall, which was rather tall. The three Pokémon followed the volcano Pokémon to the other side. "Okay , I'll find challenger number one." he said, before leaving the room.

Minutes later a giant dog came through the door. He had red fur with black stripes and white fur around is head and his tail. "Okay who of you is going to start?" Numel asked, clearly a bit of arrogance in his voice . " I will." Snivy said, walking in front of the other two, without even letting the fire types time to decide. "I'm gonna pulverize this one." Arcanine said. And so the two Pokémon that couldn´t be any more different, went into a fighting stance, ready to fight.

-End of chapter 15-


	16. Sudden Death

Without any further words, Arkanine started to dash towards Snivy, ready to attack the snake Pokémon. He coated himself in Flames, before growling. "Flare Blitz!". Charmander and Cyndaquil were watching the buildup of the attack, Cyndaquil was startled by that sight. As the legendary Pokémon got within reach of Snivy, she jumped out of the way. "Keep trying…" She sneered, while in midair , then she prepared her counter attack "Slam!" the little grass type muttered , before running her whole body into the big Fire type , the attack was even stronger , as gravity increased the speed of it. The clearly surprised Arcanine groaned as he felt the attack . He quickly turned around and in his anger , he charged at Snivy who had just landed on the ground . " Take down!" he roared , as he ran into Snivy who was sent flying , still Arcanine had received additional bruises from the attack. He seemed to be out of breath , Snivy slowly got up , but she still looked all right. "Was that it ?" Snivy provoked the fire type.

Meanwhile Numel watched the excitement, he couldn´t believe, and that a grass type would be able to put up such a fight. Then the legendary Pokémon jumped high into the air, before pouncing on Snivy. Even though she tried to dodge it, Arcanine was just a little too fast. " Ready to lose? " he said, grinning at the grass type, who was once again on the ground. He opened his mouth, probably ready to finish the fight with a deadly fire attack. Then Snivy made her Ivy leaf glow brightly, without Arcanine noticing it, then she hit the legendary Pokémon from underneath . Even though he was a fire type, a blow this close and critical, could be devastating. Arcanine was sent flying to the side, and as his body hit the ground, he sled a few more feet then he stopped. " I hope that leaf blade answered your question." She muttered at the fire type, who had fainted.

It took a while for Snivy to realize, that she had won the first fight. Numel had quickly left the room, probably in order to find the opponent for the second fight. Meanwhile Snivy was walking over to Charmander and Cyndaquil. "One down, who´s going to be next ?" Snivy said, looking at her friends. "I´d say Charmander, he´s a little braver then I am." Cyndaquil said, looking at her lizard partner. Snivy nodded, as the fire mouse Pokémon made her suggestion. Meanwhile Arcanine had gotten up and staggered to the side of the hall. Then the door opened once again, Numel came in , along with a big Monkey following him, he had flames on his head, and he seemed rather jumpy and fast.

Charmander walked a few steps to the center indicating , that he was going to challenge the fire type and fighting type. "Good luck!" Cyndaquil said in trembling voice. She knew, that if Charmander would fail, that it would come down to her to make the difference… "Here I come!" Infernape yelled, jumping into the air . " Mach Punch " he yelled , his right fist started to glow bluish. Charmander wanted to jump out of the way and as he leapt into the air, a stinging pain on his right foot reminded him of his broken leg. But the monkey Pokémon had carefully analyzed the angle of the jump, then he adjusted his attack, which hit Charmander in the stomach. The lizard was sent flying. "Nooo!" Cyndaquil yelled, hoping that her friend would get up. After a few seconds Charmander got back up, but he was felling very dizzy and his belly had a big bruise on it. Infernape was starring at the lizard and as he spotted him getting up, he got ready for another attack. "Flamethrower" he screeched. As the Cloud of Fire was sent from Infernape, towards Charmander, the lizard Pokémon quickly evaded to the side, then he ran at Infernape, ready to counter. "Slash!" The lizard yelled, then he struck the Flame Pokémon with his sharp claws, leaving behind a deep wound on his chest, Infernape was almost knocked of his feet, due to the power of the attack.

The fire on the Pokémon's head got brighter, then Infernape took aim at Charmander. "Close Combat!" He whispered, before he started to unleash an uncountable number of Punches, they were so fast and powerful , Charmander couldn´t do a thing about the attack, as it totally surprised him. Jab after jab hit Charmander, then he was struck by one final blow which hit him right in the face. Then the lizard fell over . There was no Chance he was going to get up from that, his view blacked out. Cyndaquil ran over to the downed Pokémon. "Charmander ?" She whispered , as the fire type slowly opened his eyes " Owwww…" he groaned , as he felt the pain all over him. "Don´t worry , I'll win this last one for you." Cyndaquil said, igniting her back. Then Infernape exited the room.

"Your final Opponent will be me." Numel interrupted, "I´m going to kick you out of here personally, after I win." the Numb Pokémon said. Cyndaquil was nervous, but nonetheless she got ready. Charmander was dragged aside by Snivy. "Quick Attack!" Cyndaquil said loudly, then she dashed towards her challenger. "Flamethrower!" Numel yelled, but the Attack was to slow, as the hedgehog used her speed to dodge the Attack. A rather powerful blow struck the fire and ground type, Cyndaquil quickly ran away from Numel, to avoid any counter attacks. "You asked for It, Magnitude!" The creature with her volcano on the back said, and seconds later the earth around Cyndaquil started to shake. The little quakes knocked pieces of earth out of the ground and Cyndaquil was hit by them. "Smokescreen !" She yelled, blowing a cloud of ashes at Numel, somehow the ground attack did not seem to do that much damage. A loud coughing sound in the Smoke revealed Numel´s position. Cyndaquil was determined to win this, she was thinking about the two Pokémon she had learned to trust. "Flamewheel!" The little fire type yelled, coating herself in a lump of fire and charging at Numel, at least she hoped she would. A big and sudden collision was heard. Cyndaquil ran away from the cloud. As it vanished, a staggering Numel was seen. "Swift!" The fire mouse Pokémon yelled, ready to attack Numel again, who could just gaze at the stars Cyndaquil unleashed, the rapid attacking of was just too tough to deal with... As the stars hit Numel face on, she just fell over, she had clearly surrendered as she didn´t even bother to get back up .

Snivy was looking at Cyndaquil, she was actually a bit stunned, as she didn´t think, that a Pokémon so shy and small, could have such a strong will. "We win!" Cyndaquil said happily, while starting a little dance, then she walked over to Charmander . "It´s over." She whispered into his ears.

-End of chapter 16-


	17. Turn of fate

After an overall successful series of Battles, the three new Pokémon at Lupus survived the Test. "So now what?" Snivy asked, looking at Numel who was slowly getting up…Cyndaquil was going over to Charmander, who had bruises all over him, due to a rough fight against Infernape, during which the lizard ended up being on the bad end of that battle... Cyndaquil felt relief, like a load of rocks being removed from his back, as it was her efforts, which ensured the victory.

"Okay this way " Numel said, walking out of the hall, back into the other room. Cyndaquil and Snivy waited, until Charmander had staggered over to them, as he was still feeling rather dizzy. Then the little Pokémon with the volcano pointed to the second door on the floor. "Go in there" she said and after instructing so, she left the place, going to the surface level. "Okay let´s go in " Snivy said, opening a wooden door with some sort of triangle on it. Inside, was some sort of room, with a carpet in the middle and two big torches on the sides? In the middle was a Fox Pokémon with nine tails. She cringed at the sight of the wounded Charmander."What happened to you?" she said, while slowly walking over to the lizard. "Well, Charmander lost his battle." Cyndaquil answered. "Ugh, I told Numel to test your attacks, not to have you fight in here " She said with a regretful look on her face.

Ninetails got some sort of cushion for charmander to sit on. "You´ll probably need some medical attention later…" she explained. "Still, you three seem rather strong and have a good heart " the fox Pokémon went on, looking into the three Pokémon's eyes; then she looked at Snivy. "And don´t you let anyone get you down, just because you´re different", her stare was somewhat weird; one could tell she was rather smart. "And you're not the only non fire Pokémon in here " she went on. "I´d be glad to have some promising Pokémon like you join us " Ninetails said. "All right, I´ll find someone to show you around." The Fire Pokémon who was in charge said, before going outside her room. A blue Crocodile, with a gigantic mouth, especially compared to the rest of his body size came from the staircase, leading to the lower floor. "Okay, Totodile, these are our new members, do show them around and bring this Charmander to Torkoal" Ninetails instructed, before sending the three new members out of her chamber.

Snivy looked quite interested, as she was amazed to see Pokémon, that weren´t fire types out here. "Okay then, let me show you the lower floors" the blue reptile explained, while Charmander, Snivy and Cyndaquil followed him. After a few steps, they were in the lower section, which had several doors and more stairs in the back leading even further underground, the walls were rocky and overgrown with some plants. Some sort of billboard was standing on the right side and to the left were a few doors."That is where important speeches are being held, as well as where you´re going to get some dinner " the water type explained, pointing to the door farthest to the right "Then he gave Charmander, Snivy and Cyndaquil a sign to follow him, then he walked into the second door on the floor, which led into some sort of corridor with many smaller doors. Then Totodile knocked on the door to the right. "Come in, a voice shouted" A big Turtle, with orange skin and some sort of volcano was waiting inside. He was rather old, but he seemed just as smart as Ninetails. "Oh new members, how goody to see you young Pokémon do so well in life " he said. Then Charmander, who was obviously in bad shape, caught his eyes. "Okay, it´d be best for you, if you rest a while, then a brought some sort of cup from the back of his room, inside was some sort of yellow juice. "This will get rid of the dizziness" the turtle Pokémon explained. Charmander quickly drunk the very sour tasting juice. "I´ll show you to your sleeping quarter". The aged Pokémon said, while he walked away with Charmander."I hope he´ll be okay "Cyndaquil said. "Don´t worry, he´s a fighter " Snivy said. The fire mouse Pokémon nodded, the Totodile walked back into the central room of the second bottom floor.

Okay one more thing , Totodile said , while walking towards the staircase leading even more into the ground, "Once you are sent to missions , this is where you go to" .As the crocodile explained , Snivy couldn´t help herself , she was staring at him , she had always liked knowledgeable Pokémon and he also had the same red and glowing eye color. The stairs led into a little room with dozens of doors next to each other, which were at least organized by number." These lead into corridors that lead to your mission area" Totodile explained. Cyndaquil was amazed at how big this place was."And that is lupus in a nutshell" the blue Pokémon concluded. Cyndaquil started to sniff around, the air was kind of stinky down here, as hardly any fresh air made it all the way down here.

Totodile walked back, to the 2Bf of the place and into the corridor with the beds and Torkoal´s room. The water type seemed to be counting the doors, and then he stopped, right in front of a rocky door with an "H" which had been melted into the door. Okay this is where you´ll be sleeping "If you need anything come over to C" the blue crocodile said, before walking back to the central part of the cave system.

Snivy opened the door. Cyndaquil, started to like this place, it gave her a feeling of being together with a group again and it made her certain, that a good turn of fate was approaching them. Inside of the room were some sort of huge pillows, made out of cotton and much to Snivy´s surprise, there was a little spring on the right side of the room, which brought in some fresh water. Charmander was sleeping on one of the beds; Torkoal was apparently done with treating him. Cyndaquil quickly got onto the bed closest to charmander , while Snivy pushed hers over to the spring , which she had apparently found interest in. "Nothing beats luxury " the snake Pokémon said , while forming a cup with her hands to drink some of the water. "What about missions for today" Cyndaquil asked Snivy. "How about we consult Totodile "Snivy said, walking out of the room, with Cyndaquil following.

Sure this new place had luxury, but Cyndaquil knew, they would have to be working hard to maintain this safe haven, because her experience reminded her, how fast that could happen. She had realized that her efforts would also help her friends and also one could imagine that the trio would find themselves being busy with work again very soon.

-End of Chapter 7-


	18. Scorching Revenge

Cyndaquil looked around soaking up the atmosphere of the new living place. She was rolling around on the hay bed. Snivy was drinking some Water , although it tasted rather old , she was glad to have any water outhere. Charmander was lying on his bed , he had bruises all over him , but the pain slowly died some time , they were just taking it easy. "So what are we going to do for the rest of the day?" The lizard asked his teammates. "How about about, we ask Toarkoal , he probably knows what we should do" Cyndaquil said. The three newbies walked back into the hallway and to the room of the rather old and slow Pokemon. Next to him , was little brown Pokemon with fur , she was bleeding pretty badly , hard to tell if she was going to even tell about the causes. She was on a little cusion , unconscious.

Cyndaquil cringed: "What did that " the Fire Pokemon said , his bright burning back indicated , that Cyndaquil was struck with fear. " There is a gang of robbers out there , but hardly anyone here has had any luck even finding them…" The Turtle Pokemon said , he was worried about his patient ." How about you go find a job on that mission board " he suggested. The three Pokemon nodded , then they walked to the central part of the cave system.

A big wooden board was standing on the left hand side , it was big , almost intimidating and most notably , covered with little paper notes . "What a waste of Gras" Snivy complained. "Charmander scanned over the amassment of job requests. Until one of them caught his attention. "hey everyone , look at this one" Charmander said. The two female Pokemon looked at the little note , which had drawings of two familiar dog Pokemon on them. And underneath a text : These houndour threw me out of my own cave and are now probably living inside. Anyone who can get those feisty dog pokemon away from there , will be rewarded.

Snivy extended her vines from her back , then she curled them up , until they kind of looked like giant fists. "Time for some sweet revenge " she sneered. "can we beat them , I mean last time they owned us" Cyndaquil said , she was pretty afraid that they might be facing another defeat. "We did get stronger since last time and we got them outnumbered" Charmander said , patting Cyndaquil's head."Well if you say so , I´ll give it my best shot " Cyndaquil said , looking into the lizards eyes. "That´s what I like to hear" he said.

"Oh your taking on them tomorrow? Anyway Ninetails told me to assist you in your first mission " Totodile explained. "I don´t mind " Snivy said quickly , looking at Totodile , she did like him but she was not yet ready to admit it. Charmander explained , how their first encounter with them ended. "Holy cow , you got lucky, because rumours have it that they rarely leave any wounded ones , so the stay undetected" The blue Pokemon explained. "But I´m optimistic." He added with a grin.

"It´s almost sundown to, so Ninetails is probably in the event hall. We can have dinner, while we talk about stuff" Charmander , Snivy and Cyndaquil nodded , while they walked into the last room they haven't seen yet. Inside were a bunch of tables and a little Pedestal. As expected , Ninetails was waiting there . Around the tables were many Pokemon who had gathered for eating , to chat but also to listen to Ninetails speech. The room was interesting, as it had a little pothole at the top, which brought in light from the top. "This is my table" the crocodile said , giving the other three a sign to sit down to. In the middle of the table was a big bowl with some fruit , such as Apples and different berries.

After a few bites of food, Ninetails started to talk and everyone listened. " Well even though we face times of hardship …" she started. "what does she mean " Charmander asked. " it has to do with the earth's balance " he explained . " Snow falls , where it never has and lava spouts in the most unbelievable places. That´s why you must all pay attention , if you find anything unusual. But enough of the bad news , I also have an announcement to make . We got three new members!" She said , finishing her sentence and pointing directly at the new team. Many Pokemon cheered after those last words. But that changed to a rather silent grin after they found out , that a grass type was now within their guild. Cyndaquil blushed a little , she hated being in the center of attention. Snivy raised into the air, trying intimidate the looks of the many fire types here. Charmander just grinned , although he new , no one of his teammates liked that situation."Okay bon appétit ," Ninetails said, finishing her short speech. Little whispering could be heard as Ninetails left the room . sentences like " You got to be kidding " me could be heard as the rest of the guild started to murmur about the content."Believe me , I went through a lot here , before they truly accepted me " Totodile whispered , then he grabbed an Apple and started eating.

After about an hour just about every edible item that was in the room had made it into the stomachs of the Pokemon here. Meanwhile Charmander Cyndaquil and Snivy explained, what lead them here . Totodile was fascinated by their tales. Totodile explained, that he wanted to be part of a famous guild and that´s why he left his home , which was very far away from him now. After some time Charmander , Snivy and Cyndaquil slowly tumbled over to their sleeping rooms as todays action was very broad , from harrowing battles , to new encounters. It was filled to the max…

Charmander shut the door to the sleeping room after the firey Hedgehog and Snivy made their way to their beds until they realized , how far away they were from each other. Meanwhile Totodile was on the way to his own room. The two fire types and the grass type agreed to push the hay beds together to make a big one. Charmander laid down on his back after they were done, then Cyndaquil rubbed her head against his cheek . " At least I could redeem my self a little for how much you are always helping me she said, kissing the lizards rough skin . Snivy decided to lay down in the right arm of Charmander and with that setting they fell asleep . But like nightmare waiting to came they all knew , how hard tomorrow could be turning out if things went bad , but still they knew that if they wanted to stay here they had to try…

-End of chapter 18-


	19. Back to the beginning

Night ran quickly through the valleys and volcanoes in this wilderness, which was not a worry for Charmander, Cyndaquil and Snivy, at least not for now, as they were sleeping in the safety of the guild they joined. Soon it got morning and the darkness subsided. Their well earned rest was interrupted by a shattering and fearsome roar in the Hallway of the sleeping quarters: "Geeeeet uuuup." Toarkoal shouted in a very deep voice. Cyndaquil ignited her fire as she heard the unusual noise. "Whoa watch it!" Snivy said, as she dived away from the Flames. Charmander opened his blue eyes slowly; he was still feeling a bit sleepy. The grass type was standing there, panting after that surprise from Cyndaquil, who just yawned loudly, not paying attention to Snivy. The three Pokémon opened the door into the hallway.

It was a flood of Pokémon out there and all of them seemed to be heading for the rescue board. "Good Morning." A familiar blue crocodile said, grinning at the new members, as he could tell they were not used to any kind of routine like this. "Morning " Snivy said, looking at the pileup of creatures." We got to go to the bottom floor, because we already got our mission " Totodile said, while he led Charmander and Cyndaquil to the staircase. Some mean looks followed them. After a few stairs they arrived at the door filled floor.

Ninetails was waiting there and she actually grinned , as she spotted the new ones. " Well, looks like you are going at it with 100%" Ninetails said, as she was happy to have reliable members in her guild. Totodile had handed her the paper, which had the descriptions of the job. Cyndaquil looked around in amazement as the doors being side by side here started to confuse her. "Okay then, good luck " the Fox Pokémon said , making a mark on some sort of list , which apparently had all the members listed. " 10 and 5 " She added. " It means going into door 10 and exiting at 5 " Totodile explained quickly, as he was certain, that the beginners would not know.

With that explanation, Totodile led them into the door 10 , which was covering a very long and extend corridor…" This looks endless… " Snivy said , starring down the tunnel like path which was surprisingly straight . "And scary " Cyndaquil added , as there was hardly any light here . At least there were a few small holes in the ceiling , letting through the sun's rays. Charmander seemed puzzled about this part of the guild. The ground felt dusty and it was covered by a few smaller roots.

After what felt like forever they came to a little staircase with a 1 on it and an arrow pointing the way they had come. "Four more, you got to be kidding me …" Snivy concluded. "These systems lead us to our mission district, so we don´t have to wander too much on the surface level. " The water type explained." Sound safe " Cyndaquil commentated. "We got a few items with ourselves " Charmander explained , as he showed Totodile the bag , while they were walking. " Me too, but they can be expensive to buy in these parts. " The blue reptile explained.

After some more walking they passed two more exits to the top . Charmander was wondering , how long they had actually been on the move… But their patience paid off , as they had finally reached a ladder with a 5 painted on it. Snivy starred down the hallway, who cringed a bit , as he thought about , having to go even further down. Cyndaquil started to climb the three others followed her. Charmander looked at Cyndaquil, as he kind of noticed her being a little braver then usual, but it could have just been something random…

As the fire mouse climbed out of the hole which leads to the top , she looked around, it was the typical volcanic wasteland , but this particular place seemed familiar for some odd reason. "We´ve been here before " Charmander noticed , as he spotted a cave on the flank of a volcano. " The description says , that they are in some sort of cave so that must be it. " Totodile explained as he started marching towards the volcano . Cyndaquil was shivering a bit , as she remembered , what happened here last time. Charmander patted her head , as could see the hedgehog's worries . She grinned at him. " We´re not losing to the same ones twice in a row." Snivy said in an angry voice.

Then they started to climb up the volcano. Charmander turned around , looking back. He didn´t even notice the ladder the first time he was here. The sun had slowly risen into the center of the sky, like a gigantic spotlight. Soon they were in front of the entrance. " Let´s roll." Totodile said , before he wanted to walk into the cave , but he was stopped by a pounce of a dog Pokémon. "We took it, so this is our place " A second Houndour said as he came out of the new lair.

Without any warning Snivy attacked the Houndour , which had grounded Totodile . The fire and darkness Pokémon quickly jumped of him , giving the crocodile a chance to get up. " It´s time for a load of revenge " Snivy said , raising her nose into the air. The four rescuers were standing side by side , opposed to the two gangster Pokémon , just like in a scene from a western movie. It was a fight for justice , a fight for revenge , but also for glory. This battle would be the first of many challenges for Charmander, Cyndaquil and Snivy their new work would bring them, but as most of the time, they got ready to fight at all costs.


	20. Into a new volcano

The sun had already started to leave its highest point, as Charmander, Snivy, Cyndaquil and Totodile got ready to accomplish their first mission. The two Houndour growled loudly, one of them roared :"Dark Pulse", unleashing a wave of dark energy towards Cyndaquil. "Quick Attack! " The little Mouse Pokémon yelled, as she charged at the attack, her speed increased, but just before the attack got to close she dodged it by jumping aside, then she hit the attacker face forward. Cyndaquil retreated as quickly as she had attacked. A big bruise on the face of the Dog Pokémon started to appear.

"Flamethrower!" his partner said, as he exhaled a cloud of Flames and Embers, which was destined to hit Snivy. The grass type jumped through the air, dodging the doom, and then her body started to spin as she closed in on the attacker. "Slam" she screamed as her whole body crashed into Houndour, who was just too stunned by the sight of the jumping Pokémon. He was knocked of his feet as the blow struck him. "It´s payback time! " Snivy sneered. "Vine whip she said, extending her vines to the knocked over Fire type, and raising him into the air. "Water gun!" Totodile said, as beam of water shot out of his mouth, hitting the helpless Houndour. Snivy tossed him against the wall… He wasn´t going to get up any time soon.

"Dark Pulse "the other one muttered, trying to avoid the fate of this revenge. Charmander jumped into the air, and then he yelled: "Dragonbreath!" what looked like a Flamethrower was in fact an inferno of blue Flames. Houndour tried dodging the rather unexpected attack, but he was a little too slow as it struck his hind legs. Cyndaquil looked stunned at the unusual sight of blue Flames. He stud there, dizzy, ready to fall. "Defeat hurts, doesn´t it? " Snivy said, grinning at him. "Swift!" Cyndaquil shouted, as a swarm of yellow stars flew away from his mouth, the dog Pokémon really didn´t do anything to dodge it, as he knew he wasn´t going to take down the four of them. He fell right over. "Ahh sweet revenge! " Snivy smiled. Charmander walked inside of the cave. Even though all these fights were around, this hidden garden was still alive. The berries were fresh and ready to pluck. Cyndaquil looked around, as she remembered the peace here. . Totodile could shut his mouth as the extraordinariness of this place caught his eyes. After a few moments of memories, the four Pokémon walked outside.

"Now what?" Charmander wondered. "We have to bring them back to Base. It´s enough if we drag them back. " The blue crocodile explained, before he reached into a little back and taking out a pair of seeds and slowly shoving it into the criminals mouths. "These two will sleep like babies. "He explained, then he grabbed ones paw and started to drag him town the volcano. Charmander grabbed the other one, as the rescuers started their trip back. "The sun had slowly started to approach the mountain row in the distance, ready to call this day a day. After a few minutes the fur Pokémon had reached the bottom of the valley and they moved towards the hole, leading them back to safety. Cyndaquil looked at Charmander from behind as the moment of his blue fire was still stuck in her head, she was even more fascinated by him, and then she already was. Soon they approached the hole leading underground. Totodile just pushed "his "Houndour into the hole. A loud thud was heard… Charmander repeated the process, and then he started climbing back down the ladder, into the hallway 10. Cyndaquil, Totodile and Snivy followed. An Arrow pointed to the right, leading them back to lupus.

And so the long and boring travel through the long corridor started again. Charmander grinned widely, as he knew how important it was going to be to make this first mission work, still the dog Pokémon he was dragging started to feel a little heavier, but Charmander could still go on with it. As the walk continued, everyone started to think about today events. Eventually they passed two stair cases. "Why don´t we always come back here to stock up on berries, I mean they´re free…" Totodile thought out loud. "We could even sell them. Snivy added. "But what if some lost Pokémon like ourselves come by? They wouldn´t find any shelter if we were to take it for our own good. "Cyndaquil said, looking at Charmander. " We got by without using any healing items anyway, so I´m pretty sure we won´t any surplus. "Her lizard friend explained. The light coming in through the top slowly lost its brightness, indicating the end of the day. Snivy looked at Totodile as; he was walking in front of her, with the other dark Pokémon in tow. Those red scales on his back looked interesting. Time passed as they passed two more exits to the surface.

Soon the end of the hallway, which was dark by now, was within sight, the door that had started everything… Charmander arm was hurting pretty badly by now. Cyndaquil opened the door leading into the familiar, confusing, but also boring part of the guild. And just like this morning, Ninetails was waiting there, almost, as if she hadn´t moved. Snivy had closed the door as Charmander and Totodile presented their "prey". "Impressive." Ninetails commentated, "you must be used to this... "She wondered, looking at them. " We do have a little practice" Charmander answered.

From the staircase, which led to the middle floor, a big hovering Pokémon emerged. "I will take these prisoners, I am Magnezone and I bring them to justice" The weird little robot said in a very mechanic voice." This is the reward, the client has given us" Ninetails said, handing Charmander a bag which was rather big but it didn´t seem to have a lot of content. "2000 Poké and 8 Sitrusberries." The fox Pokémon explained. "Well then I guess a quarter for each of us Totodile "calculated. Charmander gave him two yellow berries and 500 poke. The crocodile left in a hurry after getting the goods.

Then a familiar face appeared. Infernape had come down from the upper floor as well, with some sort of paper in his hands. His head was burning very brightly. Ninetails scanned the text. "We´ll have a meeting in the dining hall immediately." The master of the guild said. That message must have worried her big time. "What´s wrong "Cyndaquil wondered, as she followed Charmander and Snivy upstairs.


	21. Turning the tables

Charmander, Cyndaquil and Snivy had rushed into the assembly hall off the guild, after having completed a mission . Not only was diner going to be held, but there were also rumors about some really big incidents, the whole atmosphere of the Pokemon that were slowly gathering was hasty. The newbies had all taken a seat at their usual table, together with Totodile. Cyndaquil was sniffing the air, which was a little stinky… Charmander had grabbed an Apple and started to eat, meanwhile Snivy was just sitting there, grinning about the first successful mission they´ve had, it was important for her to maintain pride against all these fire Pokemon.

"Calm down , everyone , I´ll explain what´s going on." Ninetails said, as she started to raise her voice and grabbing everyone's attention. Cyndaquil´s fire was burning vividly, she was afraid of what the news might be… " Okay, according to some research , a meteor is headed our way… " Some of the Pokemon began to murmur and whisper. " It will arrive at a certain destination , not far from here, so we will need to evacuate the Pokemon, that live there and bring them here for shelter. " She continued explaining. "Are we enough to handle it?" Numel interrupted, slowly looking at the Pokemon, that he probably hated most now… "We are full of reliable people , it should work." Ninetails said, defending her plans. "I´m absolutely sure we can do it, I mean we got a lot of people and as rescuers I think we should always try to be optimistic about such things." Snivy interrupted. "That´s the spirit!" Ninetails said. Just like an evil curse, many fire types stared at the grass type. "She´s right , we can pull it off" Arcanine said, and after that sentence everybody started to cheer. Snivy was just happy, that she had showed all these fire types who was boss. Cyndaquil had a piece of apple in her mouth, she just grinned, when everyone looked at them. Charmander raised his right hand into the air , showing full support for Snivy. Totodile was amazed, the crocodile´s mouth was wide open… He never expected a grass type to stand up like that, especially with all these fire Pokemon being around…

After a few moments, everyone went to eating. The only nosie now, was the chewing and gulping by the many Pokemon. Snivy was using her vine to grab a berry, suddenly Ninetails was standing at the table. "For you three being new, you sure have an attidue, which a hoped , that more of my members would have… Keep up the good work! " The fox pokemon said, then she handed Snivy a ribbon, afterwards she left …The gift was not ordinary, in the middle of it was a small round plate, which was probably made of pure gold, it was so shiny and sparkly… "Wow , congrats " Charmander said, grinning at Snivy. She raised her nose into the air. " I am skilled…" the snake sneered. Cyndaquil was really happy, that things were going rather well for them. "They really depend on Pokemon like us…" Totodile analysed. Snivy nodded, as she let the words go through her mind…

Pokemon after Pokemon left the room after the meal , most of the discussing about the confrontation with the alien object. However, one of them stopped right in front of Snivy. The fire and ground type who had annoyed the new group a lot was just staring at them and what they had recieved. "You´re nothing special!" he said. "Well we probably got more rewards today, then you´ll ever get. You´re just jealous…" Snivy said in a very calm voice. Numel just marched away after hearing these words. "Why does he have to keep bugging us?" Cyndaquil complained… "Don´t worry, we now what´s right that´s why we do it and it does work."Charmander said, showing the fire mouse Pokemon the rewards from earlier. "You´re right, we´ll do what´s right…" Cyndaquil muttered, she walked over to Charmander and starred into his blue eyes, then she kissed him. Some of the last Pokemon in the hall did see it, but there was no notable reaction.

Charmander, Snivy and Cyndaquil staggered over to the sleeping places. "Um, where do we store our valuables?" The lizard Pokemon asked. " Toarkoal keeps track of all the belongings." The blue crocodile said, as he walked to the room of the Turtle Pokemon. He handed him his share of todays rewards. "Ahhh a works sweat pays of… That´s the best way it can go. " The old and aged Pokemon said, bringing a bag with an H on it. Totodile just dropped everything into it… "Charmander , Cyndaquil and Snivy walked over to him and handed over their riches. Toarkoal noticed, how well the four Pokemon cooperated with each other. Meanwhile he had brought a bag with a C written on it. " True friendship is the most durable material " The Fire type said. The three Pokemon , who slept next to each other in a single room , put their stuff into the bag, one by one.

"Well, then … good night everyone " The old Turtle said, shutting his door. "See you tomorrow, I guess…" Totodile explained, before heading to his room. "Good night" Charmander, Snivy and Cyndaquil said in unison. Charmander opened the door, then he stumbled over to the hay bed, it almost looked, like he dropped himself onto it. "I need sleep." The blue eyed Pokemon said, lying down on his back. "Me too." Cyndaquil said, walking over to his friend. All of a sudden she put her arms around Charmander and her fire started to turn bluish. "I love you with every part of myself" Cyndaquil said, rubbing her big nose against Charmander´s cheek, the she laid down right next to him, it felt so nice to touch who she loved. "With you around, I feel a lot stronger, I´d go all the way just to save you…" The lizard said, patting Cyndaquil´s heade. She blushed a little , her cheeks we´re a little red…

"Well good night , you lovers, I need my beauty sleep. " Snivy said, lying down close to them ,but not to close as she didn´t want to disturb them. Charmander and Cyndaquil fel asleep , lying in each others arms… Meanwhile the day slowly faded away, with all the surprises it had. But the next challenge had already been unvealed, but at this time, no one could know for sure, if it would be enough to handle.


	22. The new sights

The Moon plowed through the skies, as the night progressed. Charmander, Snivy and Cyndaquil slept calmly after the many things their day had given them. According to Ninetails an alien object was headed right for their territory and therefore preparations had to be made. Whatever the next task would be, the trio would be ready for it.

Cyndaquil dreamt about some meadow, however it was not an ordinary one, as the grass here was burning and the ground spouted Flames. But then it somehow rained and her face got wet. That´s when the fire mouse Pokémon woke up. "Good Morning…" A familiar voice whispered and as Cyndaquil opened her eyes she looked into the red ones of Snivy. "There is already ruckus outside, so couldn´t sleep any more…" The Ivy Snake explained. Just then the familiar roar of Toarkoal echoed through the halls, waking up any sleepy Pokémon. Charmander´s eyes opened instantly and he jumped up from the bed, as if someone had put ice on his neck. The lizard Pokémon panted and a few Flames came out of his mouth. "That always freaks me out…" he said, as he caught is breath. "Well then let´s see what we get to do today… "Cyndaquil thought out loud, the she rubbed her nose against the one of her friend, who grinned widely as the fire mouse Pokémon exposed her feelings. "Okay you lovers, we got work to do…" Snivy said, as she opened the door into the hallway.

Once again just about every Pokémon in the guild was in the hallway and everyone was pushing, to get to the mission board. Charmander slowly made a way through the masses, his teammates followed. "That´s one way to get warmed up… " Snivy complained , after she had finally managed to make it to the center part of the guild. Her small body did allow her to get through pretty fast though.

Ninetails was waiting next to the board, which was surprisingly covered up by a big hay blanked. The fox Pokémon was handing out notes to the different teams, so Pokémon were forced to stand in a line here. Snivy was standing behind Cyndaquil and Charmander, when someone tipped her shoulder. "Good morning." That someone said, and as Snivy turned around, she looked into the red eyes of Totodile. "Hey." Snivy greeted, meanwhile she grinned, and she had actually started to like the Water Pokémon of guild. Suddenly Ninetails voice caught her attention, as it was their turn.

"Okay you are going to the mountain range. Scan the area and take any Pokémon you find back to the base… " The master of the guild instructed, as she handed Charmander a small Paper. "Totodile, you may go with them if you want to." Ninetails said, as she looked at the blue reptile who just nodded, then he followed, Snivy, Charmander and Cyndaquil downstairs.

On the way to the room, the blue eyed Reptile took a closer note at the paper, 2 and 2 were the instructions the paper . After a few moments the four Pokémon were in the bottom room which led to the different places. "All right , let´s see, how long it´s going to take this time to get to the place. " Snivy complained, as she opened the door with a red 2 painted on it. "Really, huh?..." The grass type said, as she starred into the path ahead which seemed, like an endless ramp. "Well let´s do it. " Charmander said, as he started to follow the path.

The path was very dim lighted and ahead, way in the distance was staircase, yet the team moved on to their next destination. "So, what get´s a water type like you all the way out here?" Snivy wondered. "Well, I wanted to join a guild, so I could help other Pokémon in need and after I found out about this place I came here and I also wanted to show these fire types , that other Pokémon can be just as good." The crocodile explained. " A good attitude. " Snivy rated. "Some of the Pokémon in this place are pushovers though, we found out on the first day we got here." Snivy giggled, as she made nasty remarks about her new home. Meanwhile she turned around and took a closer look at Totodile, who just grinned friendly at the Snake Pokémon. He knew that she liked him a lot, especially considering, that they were both outsiders in this territory brought them closer to each other.

After time passed and while progress was made, the team passed the first set of stairs. "Well we´re half way there…" Charmander analyzed. "Have you ever thought about, making your own team?" Snivy asked everyone. "We would need a lot of help though wouldn´t we, I mean running a big place like that means a lot of responsibility and a lot of things, that need to be taken care of… " Cyndaquil explained , as she let everyone know her doubts. "Actually, we considered that possibility before and actually, I think it would be a good thing, I mean we all work together pretty well and we get along." Charmander analyzed. "I´m definitely getting along with you…" Cyndaquil said, as she got closer to her friend and the Flames on her back turned blue.

"What does blue fire mean?" Snivy asked, she wasn´t really sure what a reaction like that could mean. "We Cyndaquil consume more energy, when we really love someone, so our Fire gets bluish. Meanwhile the air got a little bit cooler. "Are you all by yourself?" Snivy asked the blue crocodile, as he wanted to know more about her partner. "Yeah, I really don´t have anyone, who I do get along with here, I do most of the things on my own." Totodile explained. "You can rely on me ." Snivy said, then she blinked at Totodile, who blushed red, but he quickly got a hold of his feelings. "Thanks." The reptile answered.

Eventually more walking got the four Pokémon to the second staircase of the area, which was spiral and seemed to go up a lot, as it made many circles on the way to the top. "Just what I expected…" Snivy said, shaking her Snake head. Totodile did like the ivy Pokémon, especially her looks fascinated the Water type. "Here we go…" Charmander said, as he led the way.

Soon the Pokémon emerged to the surface. Snivy wanted to sit down in order to take a rest, as her little legs did hurt from all the stairs, but the surroundings were so fascinating, that it made her forget the soreness. Up here it was a world of snow, apparently this part of the Landscape was so high, that the rain here turned into snow. Charmander looked around this weird place, especially the ground felt strange, as snow started to crunch underneath his soles. The danger which forced them to this job was not yet forgotten, even though preparation could help, no one knew for sure how things would turn out in the end.


	23. Through the Snow

The world , at least the place where Snivy, Totodile , Cyndaquil and Charmander got ready to carry out their mission, was very life threatening, perhaps even more then the more active volcanic spots out there… It was cold and Snow was just about everywhere. Snowflakes started to cover up the team as they marched through the white masses of frozen water. Snivy was staying very close to the fire types; she probably hated the cold more than fire… "This place is just not Grass type friendly…" Snivy complained, she was angrily waving with her ivy leaf. "Where do we even start to look for Pokémon in all this..?" Cyndaquil thought, as she remembered their mission goal of evacuating anyone they encounter. "hatchu!" Totodile sneezed… The unexpected yelling voice seemed to carry on forever, the mountains around here, and the snow made sure that it would be hard to find or see anything in all the whiteness…

Totodile´s nose was dribbling. Just then a mighty earthquake broke through the quietness of this winter oasis. "Can it get any more annoying?!" Snivy groaned. Cyndaquil just stood still, she was pretty scared, and her back was burning brightly… The Snake Pokémon almost bumped into the Fire Mouse Pokémon… Suddenly, way in the distance, the snow started to bury some weird half pipes into the ground. Charmander tried to see who was doing it, but everything was just too bright…

Whatever it was got closer. Out of nowhere a whole ball of Mud flew right into Cyndaquil´s face. "Heeelp!" she screamed out of surprise, Charmander quickly started to clean the wet dirt of Cyndaquil. "Oh hello?" a voice said. Everyone looked into the snow, noticing some small little pig, which had a couple of friends in tow. "So you didn´t come to take our land?" One of them added. "No we have to get everyone to safety." Totodile explained, he also told the ground types about the asteroid. The three little pigs murmured. "Well then we must tell our parents too!" they concluded. "Can you lead the way? It´s almost impossible to find anything here…" Snivy asked in a very challenging way. Without any response, the ice types started to dig through the snow, lending the strangers their senses.

Snivy looked at Totodile while they were moving. Water which had dribbled down his nose had started to turn into a little icicle. She giggled at the water type, and then she removed the frozen water without warning. "Ow…" The blue reptile said, as the pain slowly surged through him, apparently everything out here was slow. "Nothing is worse than this place, right?" Snivy asked the red eyed crocodile. "Definitely yes!" he responded.

The sky slowly started to get brighter, as the sun rose into the skies. Time passed, and after what felt like hours the seven Pokémon reached some sort of entrance in the ground. Apparently it was some sort of underground hideout. It started to get smelly and stinky… It was rather dark, as no snow made it deep into the cave. In the back were two more pig Pokémon, they came closer. Snivy seemed confused with all these Pokémon which looked alike. "Why did you bring outsiders?" One of them asked. "Well, if you don´t want to be blown up by an asteroid, you better listen to us outsiders!" Snivy yelled. She hated to be called an outsider, although she knew she was, she was showing her teeth to show, how enraged she was. "Says who?" The other one responded. "Our guild. It´s your choice, whether you want to survive the next week." Totodile said, staring into what he believed to be the eyes. "Their bodies were covered in thick fur, and it was hard to tell, where their faces were…

"We are supposed to bring any one we find to safety…" Cyndaquil explained. "I hope, it is going to be worth, that we give up our home" One of them said, confirming the decision of following the rescuers instructions. "Our guild has a lot of space, you´ll like it." Charmander comforted. "Those are our pride, these snorunts. Call us pilowswine… "The bigger one introduced. "Let's make it back then." Snivy said, "We can guide you, to where we met." The three Snorunts" explained. Then they led the way, back into the snow.

As soon as Snivy surfaced, she started to shiver… This time she stayed close to Charmander´s Flame. The gang of ice types slowly navigated through the snow. Every step out here felt cold and wet for those, who were not adapt to the cold environment. "Say, what kind work is this, that you do?" one of the pilowswines asked. "Well we rescue Pokémon in need and in return, we get to stay there." Snivy explained, who wanted to raise her nose into the air, but she didn´t want to be covered by any more snow. "Oh good..." I always wanted to d something like that, but I´m just not that good at fighting…" The other explained.

Charmander told them of the long journey, which had brought them together. The two Pilowswines just gazed in amazement as the lizard explained what happened in the last months and weeks. Snow started to gather on Snivy´s head. "You look a lot better without that white stuff" Totodile said, as he whipped of the snow. Snivy grinned, at the blue crocodile. "I sure do" The snake Pokémon said, then she looked, into the red eyes of Totodile until she finally put her right arm around the neck of the water type.

The march through the snow came to a shattering halt. The Snorunts had stopped. "This is where" they said, but as the team looked around, they still had no idea, where they could even start to look for the way back. Cyndaquil walked over to Charmander and rubbed her nose against his, she always knew, that whenever there was danger, he always would somehow help p to guide her, like he always did. Still this time, there was literally no help in sight, only the white coldness was, what was about.


End file.
